Daesh-held town falls to FSA in symbolic victory

Jeddah, Oct 17: The Daesh-held northern Syrian town of Dabiq fell to Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) on Sunday, in a battle that is part of a wider offensive by Syrian opposition groups.

The loss is of a major symbolic importance due to a Hadith prophecy that the town will be the site of an apocalyptic battle between Muslims and non-Muslims before the end of the world.

The FSA seeks to overthrow President Bashar Assad.

The conflict, now in its sixth year, has left hundreds of thousands dead and millions displaced. Regional and global powers with vested interests have interfered in the conflict, overtly or by proxy, prolonging the mayhem and a creating space for extremists.

The loss of Dabiq underscores Daesh’s declining fortunes.

The group suffered losses this year on the battlefield in Syria and Iraq and several of its senior leaders were killed in targeted air strikes.

The group, who advanced with lightning speed through these two Arab countries, declared that it established a new caliphate in 2014, stunning world leaders. Now it is bracing itself for a much-touted offensive by the Iraqi army to take Mosul back from its grasp.

Backed by Turkish tanks and artillery, and airstrikes from international coalition warplanes, about 2,000 FSA fighters liberated Dabiq and the neighboring Soran in clashes Sunday morning, said Ahmed Osman, head of the Sultan Murad group, one of the FSA factions involved in the fighting.