From the moment we cross the Turkish border into Syria, evidence of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria's draconian and brutal rule lingers. More than a month after the group was driven from the town of Addana, residents here drive through the streets, pointing out where ISIS fighters carried out executions and left bodies to rot for all to see. "That's where they had one of their checkpoints," says rebel fighter Abu Sa'ed, pointing to a small concrete building on the side of the road as we speed past. ISIS arrived in Addana about a year ago, initially welcomed in the conservative town by Islamist fighters. But within a few months, ISIS had entrenched itself and begun exerting its harsh order through what one fighter calls "terrorism and punishment."
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The radical opposition group ISIS was driven from Addana more than a month ago
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Locals describe mass executions committed by the al Qaeda-influenced group
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A war within a war is taking place in Syria, pitting rebel fighters against radicals from ISIS
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The town is still reeling from the group's yearlong brutal reign
In early January, rebel groups banded together and launched an offensive against @placeholder in Addana and other areas in northern Syria.