An “emigrant lion from the Peninsula of Muhammad” drove a BMP packed with explosives into the Minnigh airbase in Aleppo province; assault teams then took the airbase. Free Syrian Army units fought alongside al Qaeda’s affiliates during the attack.
The Daily Beast reports that a conference call involving “more than 20 al Qaeda operatives” is what prompted the closing of more than 20 US diplomatic facilities.
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In one attack in Idlib, al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria claimed that “2,000 fully-equipped mujahideen” from eight different “brigades” fielded “8 tanks, a BMP armored vehicle,” and an assortment of mortars, rockets, machine guns, and other heavy weapons to overrun Syrian military forces. Free Syrian Army units participated in the attack.
War in Syria inspires Kurdish unity
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has issued a statement mourning the death of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s deputy leader, Said al Shihri. The statement quickly made the rounds on jihadist social media sites.
Reuters reports that a Jesuit priest has been kidnapped by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). In June, another priest was targeted by the Al Nusrah Front.
Despite a dispute between the emirs of the Al Nusrah Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the two al Qaeda branches are jointly fighting against their Kurdish enemies.
War in Syria inspires Kurdish unity
Both groups claimed credit for overrunning the Syrian military and Hezbollah in Khan al Asal, a town where chemical weapons are reported to have been used in the past.
The Ahfad al Rasoul Brigade said that it would join al Qaeda’s affiliates and fight a Kurdish militia. It is funded by Qatar and is represented on the US-backed Supreme Military Command.
Hamza al ‘Awni said that on the ground, the ISIL and the Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, another al Qaeda affiliate in Syria, are “without differences.”
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The Al Nusrah Front, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and reportedly the Free Syrian Army are fighting the PKK-linked YPG in northern Syria.
The video was released by the Muhajireen Army, but is credited to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria.
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Many of the fighters are from the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan and the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, the anti-Shia terror group that serves as muscle for al Qaeda.
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A 24-hour deadline to turn over the al Qaeda commander has already passed. The FSA is using the incident to demand weapons from the West.
The 313 Brigade shares the same name as an al Qaeda military formation that is based in Pakistan.