The Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) in Afghanistan and Syria has long operated as part of the Taliban-al Qaeda axis. Earlier this year, however, the TIP’s Syrian branch sided with Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) during its battles with other rebel groups. This infighting and related events have complicated the picture with respect to the TIP in Syria. One TIP-affiliated outlet claimed earlier this year that the group’s senior management had sent new leadership from Afghanistan to Syria.

Jihadist ideologues, including several who have backed al Qaeda against the Islamic State, have proposed a truce between the rival factions in Syria. The initiative is similar to the calls made by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, both of which have urged the jihadists to unite against the “Crusader” West.

Hani Sibai, a longtime ally of Ayman al Zawahiri, has called on al Qaeda to issue a statement regarding the Islamic State’s announced caliphate.
