Fourteen jihadist groups based in the Syrian city of Aleppo, a hub of fighting during the nearly two-year old rebellion against the regime of President Bashir al Assad, have banded together to reject the newly formed National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. Instead, the 14 groups, which include the Al Nusrah Front, an al Qaeda-linked terror group behind at least 35 suicide attacks in Syria in the past 11 months, have called for the establishment of “a just Islamic State,” according to a statement released on the Internet two days ago. The statement was translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.
“We declare our legitimate rejection of what came to be called the ‘national alliance.’ An agreement has been reached to establish a just Islamic State and to reject any foreign project, alliances or councils that are forced on us domestically from any entity, whatever it is,” the statement said, according to SITE.
The 14 groups that purportedly rejected the national council and called for an Islamic state are as follows (the list is provided by SITE):
Al-Nusra Front
Ahrar al-Sham Brigades
Liwa’ al-Tawhid [al-Tawhid Brigade]
Ahrar Souriya [Free of Syria]
Liwa Habab al-Shahba al-Islami [Islamic Brigade of Habab al-Shahba]
Al-Fajr Al-Islamiyya
Movement [al-Fajr Islamic Movement]
Dera’ al-Ummah [Shield of the Ummah]
Liwa’ ‘Amadan [‘Amadan Brigade]
Al-Islam Brigades
Liwa’ Jeish Muhammad [Army of Muhammad Brigade]
Liwa’ al-Nasser [al-Nasser Brigade]
Liwa’ al-Baz [al-Baz Brigade]
Liwa’ al-Sultan Muhammad [Sultan Muhammad Brigade]
Liwa’ Dera’ al-Islam [Shield of Islam Brigade]
But, according to SITE, the Ahrar al Sham Brigades denied any “participation” in the declaration. The Ahrar al Sham Brigades did not reject the declaration of an Islamic state, however, or the denunciation of the Syrian rebel council.
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1 Comment
If the rebels want any control of their lives, they had better take out the foreign jihadists now.