Islamic State captures most of Palestinian refugee camp in Syria's capital
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| Damascus, Syria
Islamic State militants infiltrated a聽Palestinian聽refugee聽camp聽in Damascus on Wednesday, marking the deepest foray yet by the extremist group into the capital, seat of President Bashar al-Assad's power, Syrian opposition activists and聽Palestinian聽officials said.
Jordan, meanwhile, closed its only functioning border crossing with Syria, following heavy clashes on the Syrian side between rebels and government forces.
Islamic State fighters, who control large swaths of territory in northern Syria, entered the Yarmouk聽camp聽from the nearby Hajar Aswad neighborhood in southern Damascus and were clashing with a聽Palestinian聽group inside the聽camp. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the IS group took control of large parts of the聽camp.
If they gain full control of the聽camp, they can potentially threaten the heart of the capital.
Yarmouk, a聽Palestinian聽refugee聽camp聽in southern Damascus, has been under government siege for nearly two years. U.N. aid workers have been sending food parcels into the聽camp, where thousands of civilians remain trapped and in desperate need of food and medicine.
The聽camp聽had witnessed fighting in the past between government forces and militants who control much of the camp.
The Observatory reported heavy clashes in the聽camp聽between IS fighters and members of the聽Palestinian聽faction called Aknaf Beit al-Maqdis.
Anwar Raja, the spokesman for the pro-Assad Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command, said that IS fighter entered the聽camp聽from the nearby neighborhood of Hajar Aswad where they have been based for months. He added that Wednesday's push into the聽camp聽came in coordination between IS and their rivals in the Nusra Front, al-Qaida's branch in Syria.
"The Nusra Front opened the road for them in order to infiltrate the聽camp聽and several hours ago they entered Yarmouk," Raja said by telephone. It was not immediately clear why Nusra would facilitate the entry of IS into the聽camp.
A Syrian foreign ministry statement on Wednesday said it holds Jordanian authorities responsible for "obstructing the movement of trucks and passengers and any ensuing economic or social repercussions."
Jordanian government spokesman Mohammed al-Momani told The Associated Press that the Nasib crossing was temporarily closed late Tuesday because of clashes nearby.
"It is important for us to keep the safety for the passengers and those who are trying to cross between the two countries," he said. "So we decided to close the border temporarily, until things calm down. Then we will open it again."
A spokesman for rebels in southern Syria, Issam al-Rayess, confirmed that rebel fighters were trying to take control of the border crossing from Syrian authorities.
The Nasib crossing is the only functioning crossing between Jordan and Syria and is considered a crucial gateway for Syria's government and for Syrian, Lebanese and Jordanian traders and merchants.
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Associated Press writers Zeina Karam in Beirut and Karin Laub in Amman, Jordan, contributed to this report.