In a sudden and ferocious push, Islamic State militants operating in the province of Hama have seized thirteen settlements from rival Al-Qaeda-affilaited jihadists and entered into the province of Aleppo for first time in over 4 years, Al-Masdar News reports.

On the night of Monday to Tuesday, January 9, IS members operating in Hama province’s northeastern countryside made a renewed assault against rival jihadist militants of Ha’yat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly called Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda), seizing from them in rapid succession some thirteen towns and village.

The settlements have been identified as Qasr Ibn Wardan, Al-Ablah, Jubb al-Safa, Qalaat al-Hawayis, Abb Qana, Al-Aqlah, Tal al-Halawah, Ad-Dalala, Jubb Othman, Tal al-Ruman, Al-Jaduayat, Aziziyah and Al-Tarfawi.

With this advance, IS has de facto battled its way into the province of Aleppo, a region in which it has lacked any military presence for over four years since conducting a strategic withdrawal from it at the end of 2013.