'Islamic State' gains in Syria

Several villages in northern Syria fell to "Islamic State" fighters on Wednesday, according to Syrian opposition activists.

The Britain-based group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the Islamist fighters had captured the towns of Akhtarin and Turkmanbareh, which lie between the northern city of Aleppo and the Turkish border. The area had previously been under the control of the Syrian opposition.

IS was able to take control of the towns "after fierce clashes with rebels and Islamist battalions that remained in the area after Al-Nusra Front and other Islamist battalions withdrew at the end of July," SOHR told news agency AFP.

During the course of three-year Syrian civil war, Islamist groups have become a prominent force within the Syrian opposition, which seeks to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The "Islamic State," formerly known as ISIS, fought alongside the rebels, but gradually fell out of favor with them as it began to fight for dominance within the opposition.

Now, Syrian opposition fighters are battling to wrest control back from the extremists, who have established a self-styled "caliphate" across parts of Syria into Iraq.

World leaders have expressed concern about the swift rise of the extremists, who have crucified lawbreakers and opponents, as well as threatened non-Muslims with death.

In June, IS launched a lightning assault against the Iraqi military. It succeeded in conquering many parts of northern Iraq, including the city of Mosul. The extremist fighters have since driven out tens of thousands of people from religious minorities. The humanitarian crisis unleashed by the takeovers prompted US military airstrikes.

kms/se (AP, AFP, Reuters)