Al-Qaeda-linked groups launch attacks on rebels

Al-Qaeda-linked group, the 'State of Iraq and al-Sham' has launched  armed attacks against rebels in al Raqqa and Aleppo, in a statement circulated by social media the ISIS accused Al-Farouk battalion and other brigades of the Free Syrian Army by treason and cooperation with Assad regime, so their fighting is an essential need.

 ISIS said the FSA battalions have attacked its headquarters what put them in the same level with Bashar al-Assad forces and fighting them is legal.

Over the past four months, ISIS has shown that it wants to avoid repeating the mistakes that its predecessors made in Iraq. It has carefully chosen its targets and made sure that the most extreme elements within the movement do not cast Muslim civilians as apostates and thereby try to legitimize killing them. It has also carried out a soft-power campaign to win the hearts and minds of locals, including children the Washington Institute said in deep study.

Since late May, ISIS has sought to cultivate a base of support in Aleppo and Raqqa governorates, and to a lesser extent in Damascus and Deir al-Zour. One of the main ways it has gone about this is through dawa forums in neighborhood squares. In Aleppo, al-Bab, al-Dana, Jarabulus, Azaz, and other cities, ISIS speakers frequently exhort people on the virtues of jihad and fighting the Assad regime, sometimes balancing the speeches with fun, fair-like activities like tug-of-war competitions, according to Washington Institute. 

In addition, the group has interacted with children in order to curry favor. At one forum, local boys sang a jihadistnashid (religiously sanctioned vocal chant). Children have also been invited to participate in pie- and cantaloupe-eating contests and a Quranic recitation competition. In al-Tabqa, ISIS members even gave presents to children during Eid al-Fitr at the end of Ramadan. And many of the group's videos feature kids talking about the ills of the "Nusayri" (a derogatory term for Alawite) regime and the valor of mujahedin. In short, ISIS seems to realize that winning the long war requires gaining the trust and support of children.

Besides light-hearted activities aimed at endearing themselves to the people, ISIS members have also provided aid to civilian protestors in Damascus, free medical services to locals in Jarabulus, bags of food to the needy in rural Aleppo, and below-market fuel to residents in Deir al-Zour governorate. These materials have been branded with the group's black flag, illustrating that ISIS has significant organizational and financial resources as well as a clear intent to publicize its charitable aims. The group has also put up billboards in various areas to reinforce its dawamessage, bearing slogans such as "Yes to the rule of sharia in Manbij."

 Through these and other types of soft-power outreach, ISIS is attempting to lay the groundwork for a future Islamic state by gradually socializing Syrians to the concept. This is a clear departure from the over-the-top enforcement of narrow sharia interpretations seen in western Iraq over the past decade. Of course, such outreach can only go so far in cases where jihadists do not control the territory in question, so the group's approach and effectiveness could change if the situation on the ground shifts.