Al-Nusra sponges all the allegedly secular forces to include them into its Al-Qaeda Emirate it wants to establish in Syria. Officially US-backed Harakat Hazm group has dissolved itself, members join Islamist terror group Jabhat Shamiya.
"The many and varied groups fighting in Syria’s civil war have long been in a tug-of-war to control the northern city of Aleppo, but the current clashes have effectively lumped the factions in two camps: opposition brigades unofficially aligned with al Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra (JAN) or forces aligned with Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime.
In Aleppo, JAN is part of a joint military operation room with two of the most well-equipped anti-regime rebel brigades in the north: Jabhat Shamiya (the Levant Front) and Jabhat Ansar al-Deen (Supporters of the Religion Front). The two coalitions have pulled resources and manpower from a variety of formerly independent brigades, bringing together hard-line extremist groups like the Islamic Front and the Mujahedeen Army with more secular units of the Free Syrian Army.
On Friday, state-run news agency SANA said Syrian regime bombing had killed JAN’s top military commander, Abu Hommam al-Shami. His replacement has not been announced, but his absence has not slowed JAN’s progress on the ground. JAN led Sunday’s offensive against regime forces in northern Aleppo, where Assad’s fighters have been trying to break the rebel hold since mid-February.
Though JAN is al Qaeda’s only branch in Syria, the group often downplays its role in al Qaeda Central’s long-term plan to establish an Islamic "emirate" in favor of marketing itself as a Syria-centric opposition group focused on the revolution and overthrowing Assad. Their strategy relies on their ability to work alongside opposition groups of varying degrees of extremism when fighting the Islamic State group.
“That dynamic inside of Aleppo city has been well established for quite some time. ... This is how command and control across organizations has been conducted inside of the grinding stalemate of Aleppo city,” Jennifer Cafarella, a Syria analyst at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), said. “What we are seeing is a decrease in the role that those moderate actors are playing inside those coalitions.”
JAN’s gains in Aleppo were partially due to the group’s ability to neutralize one of its biggest rivals, U.S.-backed moderate rebel group Harakat Hazm. The group unofficially dissolved itself last week and the remaining members joined Jabhat Shamiya, according to ISW."
Aleppo Battle Al Qaeda s Jabhat Al-Nusra Is Friend To Syrian Rebel Groups
"The many and varied groups fighting in Syria’s civil war have long been in a tug-of-war to control the northern city of Aleppo, but the current clashes have effectively lumped the factions in two camps: opposition brigades unofficially aligned with al Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra (JAN) or forces aligned with Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime.
In Aleppo, JAN is part of a joint military operation room with two of the most well-equipped anti-regime rebel brigades in the north: Jabhat Shamiya (the Levant Front) and Jabhat Ansar al-Deen (Supporters of the Religion Front). The two coalitions have pulled resources and manpower from a variety of formerly independent brigades, bringing together hard-line extremist groups like the Islamic Front and the Mujahedeen Army with more secular units of the Free Syrian Army.
On Friday, state-run news agency SANA said Syrian regime bombing had killed JAN’s top military commander, Abu Hommam al-Shami. His replacement has not been announced, but his absence has not slowed JAN’s progress on the ground. JAN led Sunday’s offensive against regime forces in northern Aleppo, where Assad’s fighters have been trying to break the rebel hold since mid-February.
Though JAN is al Qaeda’s only branch in Syria, the group often downplays its role in al Qaeda Central’s long-term plan to establish an Islamic "emirate" in favor of marketing itself as a Syria-centric opposition group focused on the revolution and overthrowing Assad. Their strategy relies on their ability to work alongside opposition groups of varying degrees of extremism when fighting the Islamic State group.
“That dynamic inside of Aleppo city has been well established for quite some time. ... This is how command and control across organizations has been conducted inside of the grinding stalemate of Aleppo city,” Jennifer Cafarella, a Syria analyst at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), said. “What we are seeing is a decrease in the role that those moderate actors are playing inside those coalitions.”
JAN’s gains in Aleppo were partially due to the group’s ability to neutralize one of its biggest rivals, U.S.-backed moderate rebel group Harakat Hazm. The group unofficially dissolved itself last week and the remaining members joined Jabhat Shamiya, according to ISW."
Aleppo Battle Al Qaeda s Jabhat Al-Nusra Is Friend To Syrian Rebel Groups
