An Al Nusrah Front video released on March 17 features Abu Sulayman al Muhajir, who was an extremist preacher in Australia. Abu Sulayman says he relocated to Syria, where he was part of al Qaeda’s mediation effort in the dispute between Al Nusrah and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham (ISIS). He criticizes ISIS in the video.
In a video released on March 18, the Al Nusrah Front identifies Abu Firas al Suri as a leader within the group. Al Suri, who has a long al Qaeda pedigree, was dispatched to Syria from Yemen to try to mediate the dispute between Al Nusrah and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham.
The Abdullah Azzam Brigades and the Al Nusrah Front in Lebanon have claimed credit for joint rocket attacks on Hezbollah “strongholds” in Hermel, Lebanon. The attacks are part of the spillover from the war in Syria.
Sanafi al Nasr heads al Qaeda’s “Victory Committee” and has relocated to Syria. He has become a vocal critic of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham (ISIS) and has been allied with ISIS’ main jihadist rivals, including the Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria.
The Ibn Taymiyya Media Center (ITMC) has published a banner honoring the “martyrdom” of Abu Khalid al Suri, who was one of al Qaeda’s top men in Syria. The ITMC is the propaganda arm for Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem (MSC) and also publicizes propaganda on behalf of Ansar Jerusalem.
Hassan Abboud has posted a series of pictures of himself with Abu Khalid al Suri, al Qaeda’s top operative in Syria until his demise this past weekend. Al Suri was a founding member of Ahrar al Sham, which Abboud leads.
Ayman al Zawahiri’s chief representative in Syria, a longtime al Qaeda operative known as Abu Khalid al Suri, has been reportedly killed in a suicide attack in Aleppo.
Hassan Abboud, a top official in Ahrar al Sham and the Islamic Front, has issued a stinging rebuke of ISIS emir Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. Earlier this week, ISIS rejected a reconciliation effort that would have put an end to the infighting between jihadist groups in Syria.
Ayman al Zawahiri’s message concerning the infighting in Syria has been picked up by various jihadist websites, including a Facebook page operated by Ansar al Sharia Tunisia.
Ayman al Zawahiri has released an audio message addressing the infighting between various jihadist factions inside Syria. Although Zawahiri does not address any group or individual by name, his message was clearly aimed at the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham (ISIS), one of al Qaeda’s two official branches fighting inside Syria.
Since arriving in Syria in early October, Dr. Abdallah Muhammad al Muhaysini has attempted to mediate disputes between jihadist groups. He has said that Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar should serve as models for the Syrian opposition. His efforts and fundraising have been praised by an al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb official.