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WORLD NEWS Wednesday 20 december 2017

Al-Qaida divisions may aid Assad as he eyes Syria’s Idlib

Islamic State group, faced ber and is close to the de-
significant setbacks, losing tained al-Qaida officials,
most of the territory it once leaving at least seven peo-
held in the country. ple dead.
Those who were detained “There are widespread
included Jordanian citizens concerns of a full-blown
Sami Oraidi, al-Qaida’s for- confrontation between
mer top religious figure in the two sides,” said an op-
Syria, and the highly secre- position activist in northern
tive former military com- Syria who lives in areas con-
mander in southern Syria, trolled by HTS. Speaking by
Ayad Toubasi, also known telephone, he asked that
as Abu Julaybib al-Urduni, his name not be made
brother-in-law of the late public for fear of reprisals
al-Qaida in Iraq leader, by the militants.
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The activist said that doz-
After their detentions, other ens of other members and
al-Qaida officials, including commanders, including
a prominent cleric, went one known as Abu Khadija
to ask al-Golani why their who used to run al-Qaida’s
This July 9, 2017 photo, released by Ibaa news agency, the communications arm of the al Qaeda- comrades were detained. notorious al-Iqab prison,
linked Levant Liberation Committee, shows al-Qaida-linked fighters gathering ahead of raids in But the men ended up were also detained.
the northwestern Syrian city of Idlib in search for members of the Islamic State group. As President being taken into custody “It is clear that the jihadist
Bashar Assad seeks to reassert his authority in the northern province of Idlib he may be aided by themselves. movement in Syria is suf-
deep fractures within the militant extremist group that that dominates in the region. “The campaign of arrests fering probably the worst
(Ibaa News Agency, via AP) against our brothers and moment of internal fight-
By BASSEM MROUE Damascus and elsewhere. The detentions, ordered by cadres will not stop us ing since the 2013 schism
Associated Press Tensions inside Idlib have HTS leader Abu Moham- from continuing our strug- between ISIS and Jabhat
BEIRUT (AP) — As President been on the rise for months, med al-Golani, were the gle against the enemies al-Nusra,” said Jennifer
Bashar Assad seeks to reas- reflecting a power struggle clearest indication yet of of God and will open for Cafarella of the Washing-
sert his authority in Idlib, the between hard-line foreign the sharp divisions within you a door that you will ton-based Institute for the
only remaining province fighters loyal to al-Qaida’s the international terror net- wish you never opened,” Study of War, using an al-
in Syria where his forces leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, work. They also come as al- a Syria-based al-Qaida ternate acronym for the
have almost no presence, and its more moderate Syr- Golani appears to be edg- commander, Abu Humam Islamic State group. Jab-
he may be aided there by ian members. ing closer to Turkey, which al-Shami, who is opposed hat al-Nusra or the Nusra
deep fractures within al- The tensions worsened is trying, along with Iran to HTS, warned earlier this Front was the predecessor
Qaida, the militant group in late November after and Russia, to bring an end month. of HTS before it changed its
that dominates the region. a wave of detentions by to the country’s civil war, Days after al-Shami’s warn- name.
A recent wave of deten- an al-Qaida-linked group now in its seventh year. ing, intense clashes broke Oraidi and Toubasi were
tions and a spate of vio- against more extremist, HTS was until recently on out between HTS and the released after pressure by
lence within al-Qaida have mostly non-Syrian mem- the ascendant in Syria, Jund al-Malahem faction two of HTS’s most powerful
also raised fears of an all- bers. Among those de- crushing potential oppo- that split from it in Octo- armed wings.q
out war between insur- tained were two of al-Qa- nents in Idlib as its rival, the
gents in the heavily popu- ida’s most esteemed lead-
lated province near Turkey ers and founding members
as Assad’s forces make of the extremist group’s
their push. branch in Syria, who were
Assad lost control of Idlib set free days later after
nearly three years ago and pressure by factions within
he has vowed to recap- the group who threatened
ture it, but that is expected to withdraw from the bat-
to be a bloody and costly tlefield in protest.
fight. The militant haven is The Nov. 27 raids by the al-
heavily fortified and home Qaida-linked Hay’at Tahrir
to thousands of fighters al Sham — Arabic for Le-
who transferred there from vant Liberation Commit-
other parts of the country. tee, also known as HTS —
It is also where tens of thou- took many by surprise and
sands of civilians settled af- angered al-Zawahri, who
ter fleeing fighting in Alep- accused his top man in Syr-
po, Homs, the suburbs of ia of betrayal.