Today’s Death Toll:131 (including 5 women and 6 children)

36 in Damascus and suburbs, 26 in Aleppo, 18 in Homs (mostly in Rastan), 17 in Idlib, 12 in Daraa, 6 in Deir Ezzor, 8 in Hama and 3 in Raqqa.

Points of Random Shelling: 256

Clashes:103

Rebels brought down a helicopter in Hassakeh and captured loyalist soldiers in Deir Ezzor as well as a major arms depot in Aleppo (LCC).

In Jordan, officials who defected from the Syrian government announced that they had formed a new opposition group led by Mr. Assad’s former prime minister, Riyad Farid Hijab, one of the highest-ranking officials to desert during the conflict. The group, called the National Free Coalition of the Workers of Syrian Government Institutions, aims to keep state structures intact if Mr. Assad’s government falls, Reuters reported.

 

News

Foreign Minister Blames Sanctions for Syria’s Troubles

Iran warns against Patriot deployment on Syria frontier

Syrian rebels gaining ground in Aleppo, opposition says

Palestinian faction leader Jibril leaves Damascus: rebels

Key rebel commander killed in Aleppo

UN contingency plan to deploy up to 10,000 peacekeepers in Syria – reports

Push Begins in EU to Arm Syria Rebels

UN, EU urge more Syria aid as conflict enters ‘new phase’

NATO says Syrian Scuds hit ‘near’ Turkey

Zarqawi’s brother-in-law reported killed while leading Al Nusrah Front unit

 

Special Reports

A Bread Shortage Is the First Big Test of a Transitional Council in Aleppo
In August, the prominent doctors, engineers, pharmacists and businessmen sheltering here established the Aleppo Transitional Revolutionary Council, a kind of city government in exile for the liberated portions of the city. Mr. Khanji, 67, a civil engineer with a long history of opposing the Syrian government, serves as its president.

Syrian refugees on run: ‘I want people to feel our pain’
“I feel so much ashamed of myself, being in a warm place and having my violin with me and playing music while people have to stand in long queues in order to have something to eat,” he says.

Syrians sounding alarm over growing food shortages
The Sahel al Ghab plain, in Hama province, used to be one of Syria’s richest agricultural regions, producing grain, olives, rice, cotton and sugar. But this year has been disastrous because of the war. Several people from the area said their land wasn’t being farmed because of shellfire from regime-loyal villages.

 

Syria Deeply

Jabhat al Nusra Shows Its Bloody Mark on Aleppo
Jabhat Al Nusra, now a U.S.-designated terrorist group believed to have links with Al Qaeda, still wins fans in Syria for its disciplined, ferocious fighters. It is considered the most effective fighting force against the Assad regime, and its latest film highlighting attacks in and around Aleppo seeks to bolster that reputation. In an hour-long video… Jabhat al Nusra takes us behind the scenes of its suicide bombings and attacks on military bases, demonstrating its craft and explaining the reasons behind what it describes as jihad against the Assad regime.