On December 15, eleven commander of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda) announced in an official statement that they left the group to join al-Qaeda in Syria. In the statement, the commanders justified their decision by saying that they were only “returning to their origin” and that they will not betray their oath of allegiance (bayat) to al-Qaeda.
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Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri said in an audio message on November 28 that al-Qaeda didn’t release HTS from its allegiance to it yet and called on the supporters of al-Qaeda to form a “new Jihadi group in Syria”.
The defection of these eleven HTS commanders could be an evidence that al-Qaeda is indeed establishing a new branch in the Syrian province of Idlib under the eyes of HTS.
On October 11, a report of the UK-based Al Quds Al Arabi newspaper said that a new branch of al-Qaeda under the name “Ansar Al-Furqan Fi Bilad al-Sham” is being formed in Idlib province by Osama bin Laden’s Son, Hamza bin Laden. Several al-Qaeda-linked radical Islamist scholars like the Saudi Abdullah al-Muhaysini didn’t deny that al-Qaeda is forming a new branch in Idlib, when they were asked about it.
The relationship between HTS and al-Qaeda witnessed a breakdown during November when HTS arrested several leaders of al-Qaeda in the province of Idlib. HTS released all the leaders only weeks later after huge pressure from its own fighters and commanders.
The bad relationship between HTS and al-Qaeda could explain why al-Qaeda is looking to establish a new branch for it in Syria. With the support of most HTS fighters and commanders, the new terrorist group could take over Idlib and eliminate HTS in the near future.
Wait HTS is Al Qaeda so what is this, so how can Al Qaeda forms new branch and go against HTS when HTS is Al Qaeda. I am little confused here who is who….
They are many groups who are affiliated with Al Qaeds> They are all terrorists using different names so that they look nicer and moderates according to the US definitions so that theycan use them to fight the Syrian Army. ISIS is finished in East part of Syria and the US is training them again under different names now. The US will use terrorists to advance their policies no matter how the name comes. Remember that the US bombed Jabal AL Nuda and murdered 100 SAA soldiers by “MISTAKE” so that the ISIS could take over the mountain and then occupy Deir Ezzour. The SAA could not recover from that crime but they held their positions until the rescue came a year later. The US wanted ISIS to control the whole East part of Syria. Now the cooperation between the US and ISIS and Kurdish terrorists is so obvious. ISIS are now in their control and they will become moderate terrorists again. Wait and see. This is how the US operate. Claim to fight terrorism while infact they are the terrorists themselves
Great news!!! More infighting among the jihadists=less death to those who want to live in peace. What could be better? The Syrian children should start making little parachutes so that planes can drop bullets by the ones and twos all over jihadistan, sit back and watch it all on drone TV!! So much of this war will be over soon.The rest will linger on for decades anyhow. Keep America out of this mess and get what we don’t admit to having there , out of there.
America deserves to stay in the mess she created and to be reviled by the world until a few well placed nuclear missiles can remove the mess :)
“Mess” refers to Syria in my comment. You refer to my comment saying America should stay in the “mess”. Then you say, the “mess” should be nuclear bombed. Why would you want to see Syria bombed like that. Don’t you want the fighting to stop.. Isnt it best that ONLY the people that want to fight , fight each other with small guns?
good boys gather together in one herb and make our job easier.
if Al Qaeda is Al Qaeda…what is HTS?
Bad news! As always, US/Israel creating their own extremist terrorists in order to arm their own “moderate opposition” (SDF) and delay the peace process. Im afraid that the US will find “irrefutable proofs” that Bin Laden’s son is now the new leader of Al-Qaeda and is based in Syria planning another 11/09. In order to prevent another terrorist atack on american soil, they will say that they must to act now or it will be too late… and blah blah blah