Qaida Leader Orders al-Nusra Front to Stop Fighting Rivals

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Al-Qaida's leader ordered the group's Syrian affiliate, the al-Nusra Front, to end fighting with its jihadist rivals, in an audiotape posted online on Friday.

Ayman al-Zawahiri, in a message to Al-Nusra chief Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, ordered that "all soldiers of the front immediately cease fighting" other jihadist groups.

Instead, he urged him to "devote himself to combat the enemies of Islam, specifically Baathists, Shiites and their allies."

The Baath is the party of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Al-Qaida is a hardline Sunni organization that considers Shiite Muslims, including the many volunteers from neighboring Iraq and Lebanon fighting alongside Assad's forces, to be heretics.

Powerful rebel groups in Syria, including Al-Nusra, have been locked in fierce fighting with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant since January that has killed thousands of fighters.

ISIL was initially welcomed by other rebels, who have been fighting to topple Assad since 2011, but allegations of brutal abuses against civilians as well as rival opposition fighters sparked a backlash.

Zawahiri was among the critics, and ordered ISIL chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to restrict the group's activities to its home base in Iraq. 

In his latest message, he renewed that instruction, urging him to "devote himself to wounded Iraq, which needs you to redouble your efforts" there.

Comments 6
Thumb Mystic 02 May 2014, 15:42

How many times, has this lunatic mentioned this? Must really hurt the Al Qaeda to see their brothers slaughtering one another.

Missing coolmec 02 May 2014, 16:55

Wolf
saint? canonization?? please..... don't use these words on this trash

Missing ArabDemocrat.com 02 May 2014, 18:26

Funny how many of those attacking this criminal support a much bigger criminal in the person of Bashar Assad and his regime.

Missing _karim 02 May 2014, 18:53

Hopefully all factions of the FSA-Al Qaeda jihadist terrorists destroy each other.

Missing _karim 02 May 2014, 21:14

Your time is coming filthy terrorist, and you will follow in the footsteps of bin Laden on a one-way ticket to hell.

Thumb Elemental 03 May 2014, 00:20

Such primitive people...like any other extremists.