Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Since
the
FSA
declared
war
on
this
group
on
3
January
2014
and
took
over
many
of
their
bases,
significant
evidence
has
been
uncovered
which
has
confirmed
circulating
testimony
and
rumors
about
the
links
between
the
regime
and
ISIS.
This
memo
is
just
a
small
sample
of
testimony
from
FSA
fighters
that
describe
events
on
the
ground
where
regime
forces
have
been
protecting
and
assisting
this
group.
Accounts
go
further,
saying
that
regime
forces
are
intimately
intertwined
with
this
group,
whose
objectives
are
one
and
the
same:
to
destroy
moderate
Opposition
forces
and
establish
control
over
as
much
of
Syria
as
possible.
Accounts
of
this
kind
are
so
widespread,
most
Opposition
fighters
can
add
their
own
personal
accounts
to
this
collection.
We
would
encourage
those
interested
to
independently
reach
out
to
Syrians
inside
the
country
to
hear
their
testimonies
first-hand.
Regime-ISIS
non-confrontation,
protection
&
assistance:
Non-confrontation:
The
ISIS
headquarters
in
Raqqa
are
distinctive
and
famous
buildings
(the
governorate
building
and
Armenian
Catholic
Church).
When
the
regime
shells
the
city,
the
aircraft
fly
down
very
low
to
target
FSA
held
areas,
i
however
they
never
bomb
the
ISIS
HQ
or
target
areas
under
its
control.
This
is
also
the
case
for
ISIS
HQ
in
Jarablus
on
the
Syrian
Turkish
borders
and
the
HQ
in
Al-Danna
(Idleb)
In
turn,
ISIS
has
never
attacked
Jisr
Al
Shughour,
a
regime-controlled
area
of
strategic
value
in
Idlib
or
the
regime-controlled
ii
areas
of
Dier
Ezzor
or
Aleppo
City.
A
US
official
has
recently
testified
to
this.
th
During
the
battle
between
ISIS
&
FSA
in
the
northern
suburbs
of
Homs
(January
10 2014),
regime
aircraft
were
heavily
shelling
the
FSA,
avoiding
ISIS,
which
assisted
them
to
move
forward
in
battle.
During
the
last
battle
between
the
Islamic
Front
and
ISIS
when
ISIS
was
defeated
in
Aleppo,
two
days
prior
to
this
a
convoy
lead
by
an
ISIS
military
leader,
Emir
Omar
Shishani,
drove
(January
2014)
from
Raqqa
to
Aleppo,
there
are
many
eye-
witness
accounts
saying
this
convoy
was
protected
by
regime
warplanes.
In
contrast,
the
next
day,
another
convoy
from
iii
Liwa
Al
Tawhid
drove
a
similar
route
north
and
was
heavily
bombarded
by
the
regime
planes.
As
recently
revealed
in
westerns
media,
ISIS
and
Jabhat
al
Nusra
is
selling
fuel
to
the
Assad
Government
in
return
for
iv
electricity.
ISIS
upholds
a
systematic
policy
of
assassinating
the
strongest
and
most
highly
respected
FSA
commanders,
such
as
Abu
Rayan,
responsible
Tal
Abyad
border
checkpoint
who
was
tortured
and
killed
by
ISIS,
Abu
Basir
in
the
coastal
front-
Latakia
v
suburbs,
who
was
a
highly
prominent
officer
in
the
FSA.
ISIS-regime
fusion:
Current
emirs
in
ISIS
were
serving
officers
with
the
regime.
E.g.
Muhanat
Juneidi
was
serving
with
the
regime
in
Dier
Ezzor
during
the
Iraq
war
where
he
was
responsible
for
the
section
following
and
investigating
those
who
went
to
fight
in
Iraq
and
returned.
He
is
an
Alawite
and
until
recently
was
an
Emir
with
ISIS
in
Idlib
suburbs
where
he
was
seen
wearing
the
Afghani
dawb,
with
a
long
beard.
He
was
responsible
for
security
issues
inside
ISIS
in
this
area
before
FSA
defeated
ISIS
and
drove
th
them
out
of
Idlib
(January
9
2014).
Similarly,
Abu
Anas
al-Iraqi
leads
an
al-Qaeda
brigade
in
the
province
of
Raqqa:
Abu
vi
Anas
is
financed
directly
by
the
regime,
through
Iran
and
Iraq,
confessed
an
ISIS
detainee.
Accounts
from
FSA
fighters
of
seeing
the
same
faces
fighting
with
the
regime
as
fighting
with
ISIS.
Accounts
from
torture
survivors
who
were
subject
to
the
same
torture
techniques
under
the
regime
as
under
ISIS.
There
are
pictures
and
videos
available
demonstrating
this.
Similarly
when
ISIS
commit
massacres,
they
employ
the
same
methods
as
regime
forces
employ.
During
military
clashes
between
FSA
and
ISIS,
ISIS
ammunition
cases
have
been
recovered
by
the
FSA.
Empty
cartridges
are
labelled
as
having
been
manufactured
in
the
Institute
of
Defence
Factories,
the
regime
Ministry
of
Defence
factory
or
from
Russia.
Documents:
As
the
FSA
have
taken
over
ISIS
areas,
much
evidence
has
been
gathered
and
is
being
held
with
FSA
brigades
inside
Syria.
IDs
of
from
Syrian
intelligence
agencies
have
been
discovered
in
ISIS
bases.
Youtube
videos,
exhibit
evidence
which
is
currently
held
by
the
Jaish
Al
Mujahediin.
It
shows
belongings
found
when
ISIS
bases
were
taken
over
by
the
FSA
in
Idlib.
The
evidence
includes
Iranian
visas,
Russian
passports,
Iranian
simcards,
photographs
showing
ISIS
emirs
making
fun
of
Arabs
and
posing
with
their
scantily
clad
western
unveiled
girlfriends.
Free
Syrian
Army
uncovered
in
January
the
passport
vii
of
Abu
Hafs
al
Masri,
senior
commander
of
ISIS
in
the
northern
city
of
Jarablus,
containing
an
Iranian
visa
stamp.
Civilian
Syrian
testimony:
Masarat
media
and
activist
organization
collecting
these
views
showed
that
70%
of
respondents
believe
that
the
Assad
regime
supports
ISIS.
The
same
study
showed
that
79%
of
respondents
believe
that
ISIS
has
not
played
an
effective
role
in
opposing
the
Assad
regime
in
their
area.
Social
media
sites
of
late,
especially
Twitter,
have
seen
a
marked
increase
in
the
discussion
surrounding
the
relationship
between
Assad
and
ISIS,
fuelled
by
material
such
as
leaked
Youtube
videos
of
viii
fighters
affiliated
with
the
Assad
regime
posing
as
ISIS
fighters.
Conclusions
As
the
Assad
regime
tried
to
crush
the
revolution,
conditions
of
turmoil
and
lawlessness
allowed
these
groups
to
originally
enter
Syria
as
they
snatched
power
within
a
vacuum.
The
Assad
regime
has
been
protecting,
supporting
and
facilitating
ISIS
within
Syria.
Allowing
this
group
to
thrive
is
his
ultimate
protection
from
the
international
community
who
has
been
led
to
believe
he
is
fighting
terrorism
in
Syria.
As
ordinary
Syrians
would
testify,
Assad
is
the
biggest
force
of
terrorism
inside
Syria,
not
only
through
this
partnership
but
through
his
systematic
state
policy
of
war
crimes
which
continues
to
crush
what
started
as
a
peaceful
call
for
freedom.
We
ask
regional
and
international
players:
is
it
in
your
strategic
interest
to
allow
this
regime
to
aid
extremism,
cause
mass
displacement
&
regional
turmoil?
The
regime
is
allowing
such
groups
to
thrive
on
your
borders
whilst
simultaneously
perpetuating
regional
chaos
by
creating
the
greatest
humanitarian
crisis
the
world
has
seen
this
this
century.
It
is
time
for
a
bolder
policy
to
address
this
shared
problem
with
final
resolve.
Remarks
Ahmad
Jarba,
President
of
The
National
Coalition
of
the
Syrian
Revolution
and
Opposition
Forces,
Connection
and
collusion
between
the
regime
and
ISIS
runs
deep.
When
the
world
hears
Assad's
empty
talk
of
terrorism,
they
must
think
again
and
ask
themselves,
who
in
Syria
is
the
true
terrorist?"
FSA
fighter
from
Homs,
It
is
so
obvious
to
all
of
us
on
the
ground.
The
West
must
see
the
extent
of
the
deceit
of
this
regime,
it
has
no
limits
to
the
tricks
it
will
play
to
save
itself.
Ahmet
Davutolu,
Turkish
Foreign
Minister,
There
is
a
partnership
between
them
[ISIS]
and
the
regime
Western
Intelligence
source,
The
Telegraph,
Assads
vow
to
strike
terrorism
with
an
iron
fist
is
nothing
more
than
bare-faced
hypocrisy
At
the
same
time
as
peddling
a
triumphant
narrative
about
the
fight
against
terrorism,
his
regime
has
made
deals
to
ix
serve
its
own
interests
and
ensure
its
survival.
About
this
information
&
further
enquiries
This
memo
is
mainly
sourced
from
the
testimony
of
FSA
fighters,
it
is
a
small
sample
of
a
wealth
of
evidence
that
is
being
gathered
by
the
SOC,
SMC,
FSA
&
local
coordination
committees.
A
lot
of
evidence
has
recently
been
uncovered
following
the
rd
FSA
surge
against
ISIS
which
was
originally
declared
on
3
January
2014.
All
of
the
information
contained
in
this
memo
can
be
corroborated
by
first
hand
sources.
Please
email
this
address
with
your
enquiries
and
we
will
put
you
in
touch
with
a
relevant
witness:
ISISevidence@gmail.com
SMC
Media
Office:
SMCSyriaSyria@gmail.com
Further
reading
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Notes
on
terminology
&
acronyms
-
-
-
-
The
End
of
the
Beginning
in
#Syria
2013
Round
Up,
Yalla
Souriya,
1st
January
2014,
http://yallasouriya.wordpress.com/2014/01/01/the-end-of-the-beginning-in-syria-2013-round-up-h/;
Syria:
the
struggle
continues
-
day
of
rage
against
Al-Qaeda
&
Assad,
Guerre
de
Classe,
13th
January
2014,
http://libcom.org/news/syria-
struggle-continues-13012014
ii
Background
Briefing
on
Geneva
II
Process
and
the
Overall
Situation
in
Syria,
State
Department
Special
Briefing
for
Senior
Administration
Officials,
31st
January
2014,
Washington,
DC,
Background
Briefing
on
Geneva
II
Process
and
the
Overall
Situation
in
Syria,
State
Department
Special
Briefing
for
Senior
Administration
Officials,
31st
January
2014,
Washington
DC,
http://m.state.gov/md221121.htm
iii
Emir
Omar
Shishani
driving
from
Raqqa
to
Aleppo
on
5th
January
2014,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SRPcV4TZwg
iv
Ruth
Sherlock
&
Richard
Spencer,
The
Telegraph,
Syria's
Assad
accused
of
boosting
al-Qaeda
with
secret
oil
deals,
20th
January
2014,
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10585391/Syrias-Assad-accused-of-boosting-al-
Qaeda-with-secret-oil-deals.html;
Ben
Hubbard,
Clifford
Krauss
&
Eric
Schmitt,
Rebels
in
Syria
Claim
Control
of
Resources
New
York
Times,
28th
January
2014,
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/29/world/middleeast/rebels-in-syria-claim-control-of-
resources.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=2
v
Western-backed
Coalition
accuse
ISIS
of
serving
Assads
interests
Thursday,
Asharq
Al-Awsat,
2nd
January
2014,
http://www.aawsat.net/2014/01/article55326385
vi
Al-Qaeda
detainees
reveal
ties
with
Assad,
Al
Arabiya,
20th
January
2014,
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-
east/2014/01/21/Al-Qaeda-detainees-reveal-ties-with-Assad.html
vii
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8lQpI3h7fs;
https://twitter.com/JadBantha/status/421263516301926400/photo/1;
Andrew
Parasiliti,
Al
Monitor,
23rd
January
2014,
SOC
member
Michel
Kilo
claims
evidence
of
Assad
links
to
ISIShttp://www.al-
monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/01/michel-kilo-syria-opposition-regime-terrorists-isis.html
viii
https://www.facebook.com/MasaratSyria
ix
Ruth
Sherlock
&
Richard
Spencer,
The
Telegraph,
Syria's
Assad
accused
of
boosting
al-Qaeda
with
secret
oil
deals,
20th
January
2014