Al-Qaeda's main branch in Syria, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), was formed without permission and should be abolished, Al-Qaeda's chief said. Meanwhile, the terrorist Al-Nusra Front will continue operating in Syria.
In a message broadcast by Al-Jazeera TV, Al-Qaeda’s leader, Ayman
Zawahiri, said that the leader of the Islamic State in Iraq
(ISI), Abu Bakr Baghdadi, had "made a mistake by establishing the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant without asking for our
permission, or even informing” the terrorist network's command.
"The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is to be
abolished, while the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) remains
functioning," he said.
The jihadist Al-Nusra Front (Jabhat al-Nusra) would continue to
function as "an independent branch of Al-Qaeda that reports to
the general command,” while the activities of the ISI would
be limited to operations inside Iraq, Al-Qaeda’s leader said.
It is not clear when Friday’s statement was recorded, but it
appears to be confirmation of a letter that Ayman Zawahri
allegedly wrote in June that was posted on Al-Jazeera's website.
However, at that time the letter's authenticity could not be
independently verified.
"The Al-Nusra Front for the People of the Levant is an
independent branch" of al Qaeda, Zawahri said in June as he
intervened in a dispute between the Iraqi and Syrian branches of
his network.
The discord between Al-Qaeda branches occurred back in April,
when the Islamic State of Iraq announced it had united with
Syria's Al-Nusra Front, a group that gained much power in Syria
through engaging in fight directly against government troops and
local militias allied with it.
Although Al-Nusra leader Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani acknowledged a
relationship between the two groups, he denied there had been a
merger and publicly pledged his loyalty to Zawahiri.
The leader of the Al-Nusra Front "made a mistake by announcing
his rejection of the ISIL, without receiving our permission, or
even informing us," Zawahiri said in June.
At that time, a message was published that indicated tensions
between ISI and Al-Qaeda's central command. Baghdadi rejected
orders from Zawahiri to separate from Syria's Al-Nusra Front and
reaffirmed his commitment to merging.
The Al-Nusra Front was created in January 2012 and was
blacklisted by the UN Security Council as a front for Al-Qaeda in
Iraq in May 2013.