Illustrative image.
On January 10, the Al-Qaeda General Leadership confirmed its new branch is operating in Syria’s Idlib governorate in an official statement released by the al-Qaeda news agency Al-Sahab Foundation. In the statement, al-Qaeda called on all of its fighters to support other radical groups in Syria against the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies.
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Syrian oppositions sources said that al-Qaeda officially announced its new official branch in Syria after it reached an agreement with the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the old branch of the terrorist organization in Syria. According to the alleged agreement, HTS accepted the new al-Qaeda branch and in return the new branch will work with the group and will not aid ISIS in Idlib governorate.
The Al-Qaeda effort to establish a new branch in Syria was first revealed by a report of the UK-based Al Quds Al Arabi newspaper on October 11, 2017. According to the report, the name of new branch is “Ansar Al-Furqan Fi Bilad al-Sham” and its led by Osama bin Laden’s son, Hamza bin Laden.
Later, tensions between al-Qaeda and HTS increased, as HTS arrested several leaders of al-Qaeda in Idlib governorate on November 27, 2017. Syrian opposition activists said back then that еру HTS leadership was trying to reduce the influence of the foreign al-Qaeda bodies in its areas.
In response to the arrests, al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri accused HTS and its leader Abu Mohammad al-Julani of betraying their oath of allegiance (bayat) to al-Qaeda in an official audio message and stressed that al-Qaeda didn’t release HTS from its allegiance to it yet.
Facing huge pressure from the al-Qaeda leadership and its own fighters and commanders, HTS released all al-Qaeda leaders on December 2, 2017 and started negotiations with al-Qaeda to share power in its own areas.
Now with al-Qaeda officially announcing its new branch in Syria, observers believe that HTS influence will shrink even more. Especially after the recent HTS defeats in the southeastern Idlib countryside.
Lol hts is alnusra which was also jabhat fatah al sham which was al qaeda but now there is alqaeda working with alqaeda hts in idlib. Propaganda name changes mean nothing to saa who are coming to squash your islamist bugs
P1ss off skank.
Ayman al-Zawahiri, if he is still alive, has probably been in CIA custody for years and has been used for years now to roll up and control what remains of AL-Qaeda in Syria and elsewhere. These HTS rebel fools in Syria have no way of contacting the real Ayman al-Zawahiri or knowing where he is (probably in some CIA cage in Jordan) . Does anyone believe that the CIA would let him continue to operate 16 years after 9-11, without putting him to good use to control Al-Qaeda?
could it be possibly a move to make de-escalation zone fail and give turkey pretext to make moves against Syria?
Thats a good point and a chance for the US to bring Turkey into their orbit again.
Oh and the tangled web continues to become more complex……yawn.
Listen Yanks, they are vile terrorist scum, however you want to name them, try and fool us and blah blah; they will all be eliminated in Syria and Iraq as shall you.