Rebels are massing troops to recapture villages and towns controlled by the Islamic State (IS) last week in northern countryside of Aleppo, a rebel source reported.
IS has made rapid advances against rebels in Aleppo’s countruside in what has set alarm bells off amid the fragmented rebel factions.
Activists and western-backed opposition have urged rebels to unite to face the growing power of the Islamic State, warning an imminent fall for the northern countryside including border towns as Azaz and Bab al-Slameh border crossing.
The source told Zaman al-Wasl another war against IS lies in factions and so-called 'sleeper cells’ loyal to the Islamic State in rebel-held areas. Rebels have launched raids and arrested many.
The number of IS fighters has passed 50,000 in Syria, including 20,000 non-Syrians, according to the director of Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdelrahman.
"July saw the largest recruitment since the group appeared in Syria in 2013, with more than 6,000 new fighters," he told AFP.
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
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