Russia just handed ISIS a 'big win' in Syria's largest city

(VICE News)


The terror group ISIS made gains near Syria's largest city in the last 24 hours, indirectly aided by Russian airstrikes that drove other groups out.
ISIS militants seized five villages on the northern edge of Aleppo, putting them within 1 mile of territory held by the Syrian regime, Reuters reports.
Russian airstrikes in the area reportedly killed hundreds of anti-regime rebels, many of whom ISIS (also known as the Islamic State, ISIL, and Daesh) was also fighting.
"Daesh has exploited the Russian air strikes and the preoccupation of the (rebel) Free Syrian Army in its battles in Hama, and advanced in Aleppo," one rebel commander told Reuters.
Hassan Hassan, an expert on Syria who recently coauthored the book "ISIS: Insider the Army of Terror," told Business Insider that ISIS' gains near Aleppo are a "big win."
"I’m sure ISIS has sleeper cells in Aleppo," Hassan said. "If they pushed, if they held their ground then that would be … a big win for them.
"They could actually establish a foothold inside Aleppo, and it also helps them to make more progress in Hama," another key city in western Syria.

So far, Russia's campaign against rebels in Syria has hit anti-regime fighters about 90% of the time while leaving ISIS strongholds untouched. And up until now, rebel groups have been successful keeping ISIS out of Aleppo.

There are many factions fighting for control of Syria — ISIS sometimes fights forces loyal to Assad and seeks to gain as much territory as it can in Syria, but the group mostly fights nationalist rebels as well as other jihadist groups like the Nusra Front, al-Qaeda's affiliate in the country.