ISIS battle 'other rebels' in Damascus. Who does Assad's jets bomb? Not ISIS.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group has battled Syrian rebel forces in a southern district of Damascus, bringing ISIL fighters within about 5km of the centre of the capital. ISIL fighters on Monday night waged street battles against a loose coalition of Syrian rebels in Asali, part of the southern Qadam district, after seizing two streets there over the weekend, a monitoring group and ISIL-affiliated media reported.
Rebels, who control several districts in southern Damascus, are battling on two fronts, ISIL from the south and troops belonging to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad from the north.
Since rebels pushed back ISIL from the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta last year, ISIL has used Al-Hajar Al-Aswad as a base for attacks on the capital. Eastern Gouta continues to be hit by Syrian regime warplanes.
Al Jazeera's reporter in the Damascus suburb said 10 civilians were killed on Monday by air strikes on a marketplace in the village of Ein Tarma. Renewed strikes on the main marketplace in Douma, also located in the Eastern Ghouta region, killed 14 people, including children, the reporter added.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/09/street-battles-rage-isil-inches-deeper-damascus-150901062822671.html
Assad's troops are fighting rebels in Damascus and bombing rebels in Eastern Ghouta but not bombing ISIS base in Al-Hajar Al-Aswad. That's odd. They are neither fighting nor bombing ISIS fighters around Damascus, who are, as a result, making progress.
