Aleppo: protest against Al Qaeda affiliate demanding detainees freedom

Tens of people in the Rebel-held areas of Aleppo protested yesterday against the radical Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, demanding release of detainees and media activists, Zaman Alwasl reporter said.

 Besides the Syrian detainees, foreign aid workers and journalists have been abducted by forces from ISIL, activists said.

 Al-Qaeda affiliated, ISIL which is fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, has taken advantage of a power vacuum in rebel-held areas to assert its authority over more moderate elements of the armed opposition.

Aleppo, Syria's commercial hub and most populous city before the uprising against Bashar al-Assad erupted in 2011, has been witnessing heavy fighting since Assad's forces, backed by Shi'ite militia from Iraq and the Lebanese party Hezbollah, launched an offensive two months ago to retake rebel-held areas in the city.