The Expanding Battle Against the Islamic State

Druze men watch from the Israeli controlled-Golan Heights near the Israel-Syria border crossing as Syrian rebels clash with President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, Aug. 27, 2014. 

Smoke rises near a U.N. post in the Quneitra province as Syrian rebels clash with President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, seen from the Israeli controlled-Golan Heights, Aug. 27, 2014. 

A U.N. peacekeeper from the UNDOF force observes the Quneitra province as Syrian rebels clash with President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, seen from the Israeli controlled-Golan Heights, Aug. 27, 2014. 

Smoke and fire rise in the Quneitra province as Syrian rebels clash with President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, as seen from the Israeli controlled-Golan Heights, Aug. 27, 2014. 

This undated image posted on Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2014 by the Raqqa Media Center, a Syrian opposition group, shows a fighter from the Islamic State armed with a knife and an automatic weapon next to captured Syrian army soldiers and officers, following the battle for the Tabqa air base, Raqqa, Syria.