The rebel army has suffered a number of setbacks in recent weeks that in large part have coincided with the arrival of thousands of Hezbollah Shiite fighters , backed by Lebanon and Iran , to reinforce al-Assad 's forces . NEW : Al Qaeda in Iraq leader claims rebel al-Nusra Front part of joint effort . Cairo breaks diplomatic ties with Damascus . Obama says more intervention `` should be done on our own timeline , '' British leader says . TL;DR The U.S. and its allies are bombing ISIS targets in Iraq, but the group is still able to launch attacks against Syrian government forces.
NEW : Al Qaeda in Iraq leader claims rebel al-Nusra Front part of joint effort . Cairo breaks diplomatic ties with Damascus . Obama says more intervention `` should be done on our own timeline , '' British leader says . TL;DR The U.S. and its allies are bombing ISIS targets in Iraq, but the group is still able to launch attacks against Syrian government forces.