Special to WorldTribune.com

As Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) advanced on Aleppo, Syrian forces cleared the way with air strikes, messages posted to the U.S. Embassy in Syria’s Twitter feed said on June 1.

“Reports indicate that the regime is making air strikes in support of ISIL’s advance on Aleppo, aiding extremists against Syrian population,” a Twitter post said. The U.S. suspended embassy operations in Damascus in 2012 but maintains the Twitter feed.

The U.S. Twitter feed said Syrian President Bashar Assad had lost legitimacy and “will never be an effective counterterrorism partner.”

A Syrian military source dismissed the accusation, saying “the Syrian army is fighting Islamic State in all areas where it is present in Syria.”

According to SANA, Syria’s state news agency, Assad regime forces “eliminated” several ISIL fighters near Aleppo and air strikes leveled several of the group’s vehicles.

The U.S. Twitter feed, however, claimed Syria was actually promoting ISIL: “With these latest reports, (the military) is not only avoiding ISIL lines, but, actively seeking to bolster their position.”

Aleppo is a key city in northern Syria under rebel control. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on June 2 that a local council that helps run the city’s civilian affairs warned local fighters to be ready for battle with ISIL.

The council called on “all mujahideen” to respond to ISIL, which it said was receiving “air cover from the regime.”

The Observatory said ISIL pushed back rebels north of Aleppo near the Turkish border on May 31, threatening their supply route to the city.

Levant Front, a northern alliance which includes Western-backed rebels and Islamist fighters, said ISIL may be heading for the Bab al-Salam crossing between Aleppo and the Turkish province of Kilis.

  Aleppo, Bashar Assad, ISIL, U.S. tweets charge Syrian forces helped ISIL’s advance in Aleppo, WorldTribune.com