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Syria Islamists unite as faction-fighting goes on
Source: Reuters
Syria Islamists unite as faction-fighting goes on
BY KHALED YACOUB OWEIS AND ERIKA SOLOMON
AMMAN/BEIRUT Fri Nov 22, 2013 11:55am EST
(Reuters) - Islamist fighters in Syria have joined forces to form what may be the biggest rebel army in the country, further undermining Western-backed military commanders and potentially challenging al Qaeda.
The announcement on Friday of a common leadership for the Islamic Front, an amalgam of six major Islamist groups which had earlier declared an intention to merge, coincided with accounts of a battle on the Turkish border between rival Islamists that ended with al Qaeda allies taking control of the town of Atma.
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Ahmed Abu Eissa, leader of the Suqour al-Sham brigades, was named head of the Islamic Front, members of other groups said.
In announcing its formation in a video statement broadcast on Al Jazeera, Abu Eissa said: "This independent political, military and social formation aims to topple the Assad regime completely and build an Islamic state where the sovereignty of almighty God alone will be our reference and ruler."
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
BY KHALED YACOUB OWEIS AND ERIKA SOLOMON
AMMAN/BEIRUT Fri Nov 22, 2013 11:55am EST
(Reuters) - Islamist fighters in Syria have joined forces to form what may be the biggest rebel army in the country, further undermining Western-backed military commanders and potentially challenging al Qaeda.
The announcement on Friday of a common leadership for the Islamic Front, an amalgam of six major Islamist groups which had earlier declared an intention to merge, coincided with accounts of a battle on the Turkish border between rival Islamists that ended with al Qaeda allies taking control of the town of Atma.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Ahmed Abu Eissa, leader of the Suqour al-Sham brigades, was named head of the Islamic Front, members of other groups said.
In announcing its formation in a video statement broadcast on Al Jazeera, Abu Eissa said: "This independent political, military and social formation aims to topple the Assad regime completely and build an Islamic state where the sovereignty of almighty God alone will be our reference and ruler."
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/22/us-syria-crisis-islamists-idUSBRE9AL0T420131122
