Irrelevant. They are ALL muslims and they are ALL al-Qaeda.
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Insight: Syria's Nusra Front Eclipsed by Iraq-Based Al Qaeda
By REUTERS
BEIRUT - The most feared and effective rebel group battling President Bashar
al-Assad, the Islamist Nusra Front, is being eclipsed by a more radical
jihadi force whose aims go far beyond overthrowing the Syrian leader.
Al Qaeda's Iraq-based wing, which nurtured Nusra in the early stages of the
rebellion against Assad, has moved in and sidelined the organization, Nusra
sources and other rebels say.
Al Qaeda in Iraq includes thousands of foreign fighters whose ultimate goal
is not toppling Assad but the anti-Western jihad of al Qaeda leader Ayman
al-Zawahri - a shift which could extend Syria's conflict well beyond any
political accord between Assad and his foes. The fighting has already cost
90,000 lives.
The break-up of an important part of Syria's opposition, already splintered
into hundreds of armed groups, worsens the dilemma faced by the West as it
debates whether intervention to support the rebels will result in arms being
placed in the hands of hostile Islamist militants. And the if the West were
to intervene, it may now be under pressure to attack al Qaeda opposition
forces rather than Assad
"Nusra is now two Nusras. One that is pursuing al Qaeda's agenda of a
greater Islamic nation, and another that is Syrian with a national agenda to
help us fight Assad," said a senior rebel commander in Syria who has close
ties to the Nusra Front.
"It is disintegrating from within."
Others said that Nusra's Syrian contingent has already effectively
collapsed, with its leader Abu Mohammad al-Golani keeping a low profile and
his fighters drifting off to join other rebel groups.
Nusra fighters have claimed responsibility for the deadliest bombings of the
two-year-old Syrian conflict and their brigades have led some of the most
successful rebel offensives against Assad's forces.
The group was formally designated a terrorist organization by the United
States six months ago, a step which Washington said was vindicated by a
declaration in April that Nusra was merging with al Qaeda's Islamic State of
Iraq.
But the U.S. move drew criticism from Syrian rebels and opposition leaders
alike, reflecting the fact that Nusra was able to win grudging support
beyond its core Islamist base because of its fighters' discipline and
battlefield successes.
Many Syrians turned a blind eye to the growing presence of foreign and Arab
jihadi fighters in its ranks because Nusra fighters cooperated with other
rebel brigades, worked to curb looting and provided help for displaced
Syrians.
By contrast the head of the Islamic State of Iraq, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who
has moved into northern Syria to take tighter control over al Qaeda
operations in the country, has few admirers among Syrian fighters.
They see him as a brutal figure with little time for the intricacies of
Syria's struggle, focused less on toppling Assad and more on imposing a
radical Islamist rule including religious courts and public executions. Many
accuse him privately of hijacking their revolution.
"We reject his presence here on the ground. He should take his fighters and
go back to Iraq," said a Nusra source who is close to Nusra leader Abu
Mohammad al-Golani. "We are not happy with the way he operates nor with his
methods."
BAGHDADI STEPS IN
Baghdadi's announcement in early April that his Islamic State of Iraq was
formally merging with Nusra to form the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
clearly took the Syrian Nusra rebels by surprise.
Golani said he had not been consulted and, while swearing allegiance to al
Qaeda's Zawahri, insisted his fighters would continue to operate under their
own Nusra Front banner.
"Golani pledged religious allegiance to Zawahri, but not political or
military (allegiance)," said the Nusra source close to Golani. "It was an
attempt by Golani to keep his distance from Baghdadi."
But the move did not help. Soon after, in a direct challenge to Golani,
Baghdadi travelled from Iraq to a town in Syria's Aleppo province, where he
was joined by Arab and foreign jihadis who had formerly fought for Golani's
Nusra.
Rebels say the rift continued to widen and the foreign and Arab wing is now
operating formally under the banner of the Islamic State of Iraq and the
Levant, while many Syrian Nusra fighters have dispersed to join other
Islamist brigades.
"The situation has changed a lot. Baghdadi's men are working but Nusra is
not working formally anymore," said another Nusra source. "Those with
Baghdadi are the fiercest fighters at all. The brothers are trying to avoid
them as much as possible."
The source, and other Syrian Nusra fighters who spoke to Reuters, said they
feared Baghdadi's supporters would alienate Syrians in the same way that
their hardline agenda turned Iraqis against them, paving the way for
U.S.-backed Sahwa militias to turn the tide against al Qaeda in western Iraq
in 2007.
"A TRAP FOR GOLANI"
Nusra sources said they were waiting for Zawahri to settle the issue, hoping
he would call on Baghdadi to return to Iraq.
"We have two choices now. Either Zawahri announces the separation of Syria's
Nusra from Iraq's Islamic State, or he orders Baghdadi to stay (in Syria)
and if this happen then its a disaster," said one Nusra source. "Baghdadi
has harmed the Nusra Front. He caused great damage and broke up the front."
But the Syrian rebel commander, who is from a Western-backed rebel group,
said that Baghdadi already had Zawahri's blessing when he moved in.
"They set a trap for Golani," he said. "They wanted a foot inside (Syria)
and helping Golani at the start with men and arms provided that, until they
became stronger so they took over."
In a telling video published this week, masked fighters from Islamic State
of Iraq and Levant executed three men they said were officers from Assad's
Alawite minority sect in the eastern town of Raqqa.
After the shootings there were only muted chants of support for the fighters
and activists said that small protests broke out at night condemning the
execution and calling on the fighters to fight Assad instead of executing
people.
Several Nusra fighters said they feared that if Baghdadi's influence
continued to grow, his ultra-radical agenda would see the Iraqi Sahwa
phenomenon played out again in Syria.
"We as Syrians do not want a repeat of that. The Baghdadi men have declared
the Nusra fighters who left him... as infidels. We still reject his state,
if Zawahri does not put an end to this then the situation will get worse,"
one said.
The senior rebel commander said he even expected the growing clout of
Baghdadi's fighters would finally end the West's reluctance to intervene
militarily in Syria - not against Assad, but his hardline enemies.
"We expect soon drone attacks, like Yemen, to begin against al Qaeda
members," he said.
GOLANI GOES TO GROUND
Meanwhile Golani, who was formally declared a terrorist by Washington on
Thursday, is now in hiding. "He has gone to ground until the problem is
solved," said a source close to Golani.
Even though few people even know what Golani looks like, and fewer still
have met him, he has gained popularity among Syrians and songs have been
written to celebrate his exploits.
His real name is not known even to some of his fighters and many people long
suspected that he was a fictitious fighter created to give a Syrian 'front'
to the Iraqi al Qaeda.
Sources say he is Syrian and in his 40s, roughly the same age as Baghdadi.
He is currently in rural Damascus province, they say, accompanied by some of
his remaining fighters.
Baghdadi, an Iraqi, helped fund Nusra fighters, who also had financial
support from private donors in Arab Gulf countries. The Iraqi wing is
financed from al Qaeda's global support network.
One Nusra fighter said he believed Baghdadi held a personal grudge against
Golani because of his standing in Syria.
Golani, a radical Sunni Muslim, won popularity in Syria even among some
Christians, according to the Nusra fighter. "Baghdadi did not like this,"
the fighter said.
"Baghdadi and the (al Qaeda) leadership consider the Muslim Brotherhood, the
Free Syrian Army and other factions including Christians as infidels and
when they saw Golani was on good terms with them they were not happy."
"That is why he announced the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant without any
consultation with Golani, and he is in charge to operate in his old failed
way."
(Editing by Dominic Evans and Giles Elgood)
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