Special to WorldTribune.com

NICOSIA — Al Qaida has been on the defensive amid the rebel campaign  in northern Syria.

Al Qaida’s Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant has been driven out of numerous positions in northern Syria by rebels financed by Saudi Arabia.

Opposition sources said the Saudi-sponsored Islamic Front has captured ISIL headquarters as well as checkpoints around Aleppo.

“Fighters from several Islamist rebel brigades took control of the children’s hospital in the Qadi Askar district, which is the headquarters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in the city,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

On Jan. 8, Syrian Observatory said the attacking force found dozens of prisoners and bodies at ISIL headquarters. The prisoners were said to have been freed.

Syrian Observatory said nearly 300 people have been killed in the Islamic Front campaign against ISIL in northern Syria. The group said ISIL used civilians as human shields in the offensive that began on Jan. 3.

The ISIL facility in Aleppo was said to have been the main headquarters
of Al Qaida. Syrian Observatory said ISIL had used a former children’s
hospital, occupied by hundreds of fighters, many of whom surrendered or
fled.

“There are hardly any ISIL members left in the city of Aleppo,” Syrian
Observatory said.

ISIL was now said to be defending its strongholds in the Raqa province.
Syrian Observatory said ISIL also withdrew fighters from Dir Zour in
northern Syria.

“Kill them wherever you find them and without dignity,” ISIL spokesman
Abu Mohammed Al Adnani said. “They launched this war against us and started
it.”

The Islamic Front campaign could split the Al Qaida presence in Syria.
ISIL’s apparent rival, Nusra Front for the Defense of the Levant, has
maintained relations with Islamic Front and called for an end to the war.

“Some groups may agree to this and others are waiting until other sides
agree, and other sides are putting off a response,” Nusra commander Abu
Mohammed Al Golani said. “There is still an opportunity to save the
battlefields.”

  Islamic Front, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Raqa province, Saudi-backed rebels register gains against Al Qaida in Syria, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights