Al Qaeda severs ties with militant group in Syria and Iraq
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria is 'not a branch of Al Qaeda,' declares a statement from the terrorist network's general command.
By Alexandra Sandels, LA Times
9:21 PM PST, February 3, 2014
BEIRUT — The general command of Al Qaeda has disavowed one of its best-known and most successful affiliates, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, which is waging a brutal guerrilla war in both Middle Eastern nations.
Apparently angered by the group's growing power and autonomy, Al Qaeda's Pakistani-based central command issued a blunt statement saying that the Islamic State is "not a branch of Al Qaeda," has no "organizational relationship" with Al Qaeda and its actions cannot be linked to Al Qaeda. The statement was posted on several militant websites early Monday.
Not only did Al Qaeda not endorse the Islamic State's creation, the statement said, but it also previously ordered the group to cease operations, without success. It complained that the group was wrongly targeting fellow Muslims who did not support it.
Today, the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, boasts a territorial influence that stretches from Anbar province in Iraq to the rebel-held stretches of northern Syria. Its ranks in Syria are reported to include thousands of non-Syrians, among them other Arab nationals, Europeans and Russians who have flocked to Syria to wage "jihad." The Islamic State's trademark weapon is the suicide car bomb.
(More here.)
By Alexandra Sandels, LA Times
9:21 PM PST, February 3, 2014
BEIRUT — The general command of Al Qaeda has disavowed one of its best-known and most successful affiliates, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, which is waging a brutal guerrilla war in both Middle Eastern nations.
Apparently angered by the group's growing power and autonomy, Al Qaeda's Pakistani-based central command issued a blunt statement saying that the Islamic State is "not a branch of Al Qaeda," has no "organizational relationship" with Al Qaeda and its actions cannot be linked to Al Qaeda. The statement was posted on several militant websites early Monday.
Not only did Al Qaeda not endorse the Islamic State's creation, the statement said, but it also previously ordered the group to cease operations, without success. It complained that the group was wrongly targeting fellow Muslims who did not support it.
Today, the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, boasts a territorial influence that stretches from Anbar province in Iraq to the rebel-held stretches of northern Syria. Its ranks in Syria are reported to include thousands of non-Syrians, among them other Arab nationals, Europeans and Russians who have flocked to Syria to wage "jihad." The Islamic State's trademark weapon is the suicide car bomb.
(More here.)
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