On 1 June 2015, the United States embassy in Syria stated that the Syrian government was "making air-strikes in support" of an ISIL advance on Syrian opposition positions north of Aleppo.[21] The president of the Syrian National Coalition, Khaled Koja, accused Assad of acting "as an air force for [ISIL]",[22] with the Defence Minister of the SNC Salim Idris stating that approximately 180 Syrian government officers were serving in ISIL and coordinating the group's attacks with the Syrian Army.[23]