On December 14, the pro-opposition Syrian Islamic Council (SIC) accused the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and the Russian Army of supporting an ISIS attack in the northeastern Hama countryside.
In its official statement, the SIC said that the Syrian Army moved ISIS units and their weapons to northeastern Hama and that the Russian Aerospace Forces are supporting the ISIS attack.
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However, in reality ISIS entered the northeastern Hama countryside after a deal with Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Later hundreds of HTS and Free Syrian Army (FSA) defected and joined ISIS in Hama, according to local opposition sources.
The SIC also warned from the SAA advance in Hama, Idlib and Aleppo governorates, and held HTS the responsibility for driving out several FSA groups from theses governorates. The council said that the defeats will continue unless HTS abandoned its hostile behaviour against other opposition armed groups.
HTS and even pre-2014 ISIS are known for having excellent relationships with the Turkish-based SIC, which includes many radical Syrian Islamist scholars. Many of them are even wanted for terrorism-related charges in several Arab countries.
The statement reflects the bad situation of Syrian opposition forces and HTS in Idlib governorate, according to pro-government activists. Especially that the SIC called on all civilians in northern Syria to support the “Mujahedeen”. Radical Islamist groups usually make such calls when they are suffering from huge loses.
