- The rogue Islamic State of Iraq and Syria has alienated even other al Qaeda groups
- It's feared that ISIS could wrest control of a key border province with Iraq
- More moderate rebels say they are trapped between ISIS and the Assad regime
- They plead with the U.S. and the West to give them more aid
(CNN) -- As President Barack Obama vowed Wednesday to help fight the influx of extremists vying for control in Syria's three-year civil war, anti-government fighters reported that jihadists in an eastern village methodically set fire to the homes and farms of those who openly opposed a hardline al Qaeda offshoot.
The act of retaliation is the latest in an offensive by the rogue Islamic State of Iraq and Syria to capture rebel-held territory in the oil-rich Deir Ezzour area along the Iraqi border.
If ISIS successfully wrests control of the border province, the extremist group notorious for its extreme interpretation of Sharia law is set to feed a comeback campaign across the country by establishing a supply route connecting its bastion in the western Syrian city of Raqqah with its home base in Iraq.
Obama outlines foreign policy vision of 'might and right'
"ISIS intends to resurge everywhere," Valerie A. Szybala, a Syria analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, tells CNN.
"Deir Ezzour is just the first on the list of priorities because it is rich in oil and because of its strategic importance as a transit between Iraq and Syria."
Portraits of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad dominate the cityscape in central Damascus on Tuesday, May 27, as the capital prepares for next week's presidential elections. Al-Assad is firmly in power three years into a civil war, while the opposition remains weak and fragmented and extremists grow in numbers and influence. The United Nations estimates more than 100,000 people have been killed in Syria since March 2011. 
The father of a 3-month-old girl weeps as he takes her body Monday, May 26, after she's pulled from rubble in Aleppo following a barrel bomb strike reportedly by government forces. 
A woman stands in a heavily damaged building in Aleppo on May 26. 
An injured man lies in a hospital bed after alleged airstrikes by government forces in Aleppo on Sunday, May 18. 
Buildings lie in ruins in Homs on Saturday, May 10, days after an evacuation truce went into effect. Thousands of displaced residents have returned to the city. 
Rescuers carry a man wounded by a mine in the Bustan al-Diwan neighborhood of Homs on May 10. 
A Syrian woman carries a suitcase along a street in the Juret al-Shayah district of Homs on May 10. 
Residents carry their belongings in al-Hamidieh neighborhood in the Old City of Homs on May 10. 
A woman injured when a mine went off is carried in Bustan al-Diwan neighborhood in the Old City of Homs on May 10. 
Residents return to damaged dwellings in Homs on May 10. 
Debris lies on a deserted street in Homs on Thursday, May 8. 
A mosque is seen through shattered glass in Homs, where an evacuation truce went into effect on Wednesday, May 7. 
A wounded man is treated at a makeshift hospital in Aleppo, Syria, on Sunday, May 4. 
Debris rises in what Free Syrian Army fighters said was an operation to strike a checkpoint and remove government forces in Maarat al-Numan, Syria, on Monday, May 5. 
A man helps a woman through debris after reported airstrikes by government forces on Thursday, May 1, in the Halak neighborhood of Aleppo. 
Syrians gather at the site of reported airstrikes in Aleppo on May 1. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 33 civilians were killed in the attack. 
A woman runs after two barrel bombs were thrown, reportedly by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo on May 1. 
A boy runs in Aleppo on Sunday, April 27, after what activists said were explosive barrels thrown by forces loyal to al-Assad. 
Security and emergency medical personnel work at the site of a car bomb explosion Monday, April 14, in the Ekremah neighborhood of Homs. 
In this photo released by the state-run SANA news agency, Syrian forces take positions during clashes with rebels near the town of Rankous, Syria, on Sunday, April 13. 
Flames engulf a vehicle following a car bomb Wednesday, April 9, in the Karm al-Loz neighborhood of Homs. 
A man carries a child who was found in the rubble of an Aleppo building after it was reportedly bombed by government forces on Monday, March 18. 
An elderly man and a child walk among debris in a residential block of Aleppo on March 18. 
A woman with blood on her face carries a child following a reported airstrike by government forces Saturday, March 15, in Aleppo. 
People attempt to comfort a man in Aleppo after a reported airstrike by government forces on Sunday, March 9. 
Buildings in Homs lay in ruins on March 9. 
Syrian forces fire a cannon and a heavy machine gun loaded on a truck as they fight rebels in the Syrian town of Zara on Saturday, March 8. 
A handout photo released by SANA shows Syrian President Bashar al-Assad speaking March 8 during a meeting in Damascus, Syria, to mark the 51st anniversary of the 1963 revolution, when Baath Party supporters in the Syrian army seized power. Al-Assad said the country will go on with reconciliation efforts along with its fight against terrorism. 
Syrians inspect the rubble of destroyed buildings in Aleppo following a reported airstrike by Syrian government forces on Friday, March 7. 
People dig through the rubble of a building in Damascus that was allegedly hit by government airstrikes on Thursday, February 27. 
A boy walks ahead of men carrying the body of his mother in Aleppo on Saturday, February 22. According to activists, the woman was killed when explosive barrels were thrown by forces loyal to al-Assad. 
A man holds a baby who survived what activists say was an airstrike by al-Assad loyalists Friday, February 14, in Aleppo. 
In this photo provided by the anti-government activist group Aleppo Media Center, Syrian men help survivors out of a building in Aleppo after it was bombed, allegedly by a Syrian regime warplane on Saturday, February 8. 
Syrians gather at a site hit by barrel bombs, allegedly dropped by a regime helicopter on the opposition-controlled Mesekin Hananu district of Aleppo on February 8. 
In this handout photo released by the state-run SANA news agency on February 8, civilians wave national flags in Damascus as they take part in a rally in support of President al-Assad. 
A man stands next to debris in the road following a reported airstrike by Syrian government forces in Aleppo on February 8. 
Medical personnel look for survivors after a reported airstrike in Aleppo on Saturday, February 1. 
Syrians carry a dead body following an airstrike on February 1. 
A man walks amid debris and dust on January 31. 
An injured man is covered in dust after an airstrike on January 29. 
A man tries to fix electrical wires in Aleppo on January 27. 
Rebels and civilians check out a crater that activists say resulted from a Syrian government airstrike on an Aleppo bus station on Tuesday, January 21. 
Men rush to a site that Syrian government forces reportedly hit in Aleppo on January 21. 
Buildings lie in ruins in Aleppo on Sunday, January 19, after reported air raids by Syrian government planes. 
A child collects items from a garbage pile in Douma, Syria, northeast of the capital, on Saturday, January 18. 
A piece of exploded mortar lies in a street in Daraya, a Syrian city southwest of Damascus, on Friday, January 17. 
Photos: Syrian civil war in 2014 
Obama outlines foreign policy vision 
Kerry defends diplomacy in Syria 
Hagel: Obama critics "simplistic" Other rebel groups unite
To combat the push by ISIS, 12 rebel battalions including al-Nusra Front, a powerful al Qaeda affiliate in Syria, formed the Mujahideen Shura Council in eastern Deir Ezzour, earlier this week.
"We found the only solution is for us to unite against ISIS. So all the battalions that were fighting them united financially, militarily and administratively and now work out of the same operation room," Jassem Alkraty, a media activist linked to anti-ISIS insurgent groups, told CNN via Skype from eastern Deir Ezzour.
The birth of the alliance followed weeks of brutal clashes between ISIS and al-Nusra Front fighters backed by Islamist insurgents. The fighting forced at least 60,000 civilians to flee, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based monitoring group.
This is not the first time strained rebel fighters have diverted resources away from their primary objective of overthrowing President Bashar al-Assad to repel ISIS aggression.
Early this year, a coordinated rebel offensive forced ISIS to either withdraw or tactically secede from much of the country's north.
"At the direct insistence of foreign backers and the West, rebels fought ISIS expecting a lot more support from their allies. The fact that this support did not come through is part of the reason for their return," Szybala tells CNN.
"My hope is we can right those wrongs. A lot of the people fighting on the ground have shown they have the will and the desire to stand up against ISIS, but they need resources."
The Obama administration says it's moving closer to finalizing a plan to expand military training and equip moderate Syrian rebels, according to U.S. officials.
But with the al Qaeda linked al-Nusra Front leading the fight against ISIS, Syria's allies will face challenges isolating nonextremists from increasingly radicalized opposition factions.
'We are at a critical juncture in our fight against violent extremism and hope that the UK and U.S. can shrug off their fear of supporting us," Brig. Gen. Abdulellah al-Basheer, chief of staff of the Supreme Military Council, said in a letter to The Times this week adding, "A failure to actively support the FSA now will lead to ISIS' successes internationally."
Infighting creates humanitarian crisis
Violence erupted last month when ISIS launched a surprise attack on the border town of Al-Bukamal, then stormed into the Deir Ezzour countryside. ISIS set off car bombs and executed rebel fighters in a terrifying campaign that left dozens dead, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
"The warfare is never-ending and the towns nearby are facing a serious humanitarian crisis and are very afraid. Rumors spread like wildfire and families are constantly scared their village will be the target of the next massacre," Alkraty tells CNN.
ISIS has pushed through much of the east and set up checkpoints along the Euphrates River across from the provincial capital of Deir Ezzour. The city remains under the control of anti-ISIS militias but is vulnerable to attacks from Syrian troop positions to the north.
"Residents are very afraid of ISIS and scared of the horrible stories about them," Khalid al-Taha, a spokesperson for the opposition-run local committee in Deir Ezzour, said. "Plus we have near daily shelling from the regime, so life is very, very hard."
Rebels claim the fate of Deir Ezzour might soon parallel the ISIS-controlled city of Raqqah, where human rights groups report public executions, the forced disappearance and torture of opponents and even mock crucifixions, but Szybala says the ultraextremists do not have the resources to rule another population center.
Al Qaeda central recognizes and supports al Nusra Front's fight against the government in Syria, but in an unprecedented move earlier this year, the group's general command disowned ISIS and blamed it for intrarebel fighting that has killed more than 3,300 people, a number reported by SOHR in April.
"We started this revolution for freedom," al-Taha says, "so we cannot accept any another organization coming and imposing its rules on us."
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