Free Syrian Army

U.S. Vice President Biden’s trip has clarified at least the thorny issues on the Syrian debacle. Turkey wants safe-zone; the U.S. wants to operate from İncirlik. These differences are not irreconcilable for now. But they will remain frozen at least for a couple of months.

Washington is pleased with talks held during U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to Turkey, despite their failure to yield any solid outcomes sought by either of the sides, a high-ranking White House official said, briefing the press during the trip.

Teenagers carrying weapons stand at checkpoints and busy intersections in Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul. Patched onto the left arms of their black uniforms are the logos of the Islamic Police.

Turkey has been hosting three key Americans over the last three days. One is Vice President Joe Biden. The second is John Allen, the U.S. Special Envoy for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) strategy. The third is General James Jones, the U.S.’s former National Security Adviser and currently the chairman of the American-Turkish Council.

The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) estimated the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant’s (ISIL) combatant manpower to be between 20,000 to 31,500 in Iraq and Syria combined, and that was back in September, before the organization had attracted new recruits from all over the world.

Turkey could face an influx of 2-3 million more Syrian refugees if President Bashar al-Assad's forces or Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) insurgents advance around Aleppo, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Nov. 18.
  

Some 14,000 militants of the Syrian rebel group have abandoned Aleppo, while its commander has fled to Turkey, according to Turkish security sources The Free Syrian Army (FSA), the recognized armed opposition group against the Bashar al-Assad in Syria, has ceased its resistance in Aleppo, Syria’s second biggest city, withdrawing its 14,000 militia from the city, a ranking Turkish security so

Answering a question from a journalist about reports claiming U.S. President Barack Obama has changed his strategy on Syria to prioritize the removal of Bashar al-Assad, to aid in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said on Nov.

The leader of the moderate Syrian opposition accused the US-led coalition in an interview Nov. 11 of having a "confused" strategy in Iraq and Syria that targeted jihadists but turned "a blind eye" to crimes by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
      

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has accused Syrian forces of committing massacres in and around Aleppo and said Turkey would face a major new refugee crisis if Syria's second city were to fall into his hands.