Hundreds Of Syria Rebels Pledge Loyalty To Qaeda Groups: Activists

[Purveyor]

Source: REUTERS

BEIRUT | Fri Sep 20, 2013 8:17am EDT

(Reuters) - Hundreds of rebels have pledged allegiance to al Qaeda-affiliated forces in northern and eastern Syria, activists and Islamist sources said on Friday, strengthening the group's control in the region.

Not only individual fighters, but entire units have joined the small but powerful al Qaeda-linked groups - the Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) - in recent days, according to the sources inside Syria.

"This is a sign the radical groups are still growing in power. This region could fall to the jihadists," said an activist in the eastern town of Raqqa, who asked not to be identified. "We may see this become a trend."

Clashes have been intensifying between Nusra or ISIL and the less effective but more moderate forces that make up the majority of opposition fighters, especially in opposition-held territory along Syria's northern and eastern borders.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/20/us-syria-crisis-qaeda-idUSBRE98J0DK20130920

[SCVDem]

1. Just hundreds?

I am underwhelmed!

[Comrade Grumpy]

2. Yay! Our plan to weaken the Assad regime is working wonderfully.

I wonder if our tax dollars are buying guns and bullets for these guys.

[arewenotdemo]

4. I think it's a safe bet.

http://antiwar.com/blog/2013/09/17/obama-waives-ban-on-arming-terrorists-so-he-can-aid-syrian-rebels/

[Turborama]

3. "sources said" .... "the sources inside Syria"

"an activist ... who asked not to be identified"

Hopefully DUers are as circumspect with regards to anonymous sources as they usually are.

[former9thward]

5. Maybe the activist wants to keep his head connected to his body.

[Turborama]

11. Maybe the "activist" isn't actually an activist and works for Assad.

[Purveyor]

12. You do 'check under your bed' frequently I trust? ;) eom

[Turborama]

15. Ridiculous ad hominem. Why the need to mock someone who's wary of anonymous sources?

There have been and are currently battles between the Free Syrian Army and Al Qaeda. A propaganda campaign accompanying it is plausible.

[Bosonic]

6. FSA brigade 'joins al-Qaeda group' in Syria

Hundreds of fighters under the command of the opposition Free Syrian Army (FSA) have reportedly switched allegiance to al-Qaeda-aligned groups, in a move described as a huge blow to moderate rebel forces.

Activists and military sources have told Al Jazeera that the 11th Division - one of the biggest FSA brigades - has switched allegiance to the al-Nusra Front in Raqqah province, a border province with Turkey.

A video was uploaded to YouTube on Thursday purporting to show members of the 11th Division parading through Raqqah with Nusra fighters. In the video clip, a voice can be heard saying in Arabic, "Raqqah ... September 19, 2013 ... The convoy of Nusra ... Allahu Akbar ... Nusra in Raqqah province."

The switch, if confirmed, tightens Nusra's control of Raqqah just days after the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) attacked members of the Free Syrian Army in Azaz, on the border with Turkey.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/09/2013920164342453621.html

[Purveyor]

7. Thanks for including this on this thread.

[Eric J in MN]

8. "The CIA has been delivering light machine guns and other small arms to Syrian rebels"

WASHINGTON (AP) — The CIA has been delivering light machine guns and other small arms to Syrian rebels for several weeks, following President Barack Obama's decision to arm the rebels.

The agency has also arranged for the Syrian opposition to receive anti-tank weaponry like rocket-propelled grenades through a third party, presumably one of the Gulf countries that has been arming the rebels, a senior U.S. intelligence official and two former intelligence officials said Thursday. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the classified program publicly.

http://news.yahoo.com/ap-sources-cia-delivering-light-weapons-syria-112406067--politics.html

[L0oniX]

14. Giving aid and comfort to the enemy ...a high crime!

[ConcernedCanuk]

16. Good idea - let's see . . .

.
.
.

USA armed Afghanistan's Taliban to fight the Soviets - that worked well.

Now the USA is still fighting the taliban who are fighting back with USA supplied weapons and training.

USA armed Iraq to fight Iran, then bombed Iraq to shit.

NOW - they are arming one side of a conflict inside Syria - - -

anyone got an idea what happens next ???



(sigh)

CC

[arewenotdemo]

9. Assad is correct when he charges Obama with supporting terrorists.

I see no difference between Reagan's illegal support of the Nicaraguan contras and Obama's illegal support of the Syrian rebels.

I sure as hell didn't think I was voting for this. Or for overthrowing and killing Qaddafi, and turning Libya over to the Islamists.

[Comrade Grumpy]

10. The parallels with Reaganite interventionism are indeed disappointing.

[L0oniX]

13. If our government helps the rebels, they must be prosecuted for givng aid and comfort to the enemy..

just like anyone else would be. Oh that's right ...they are exempt ...I guess. The ol' do as we say not as we do shit!

[JohnyCanuck]

17. Islamist blitzkrieg in Syria: Jihadists wiping out moderate rebels

Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri announced that Islamist militants must avoid any alliances with other rebel forces supported by the west and the Gulf Arab states.

“I warn my brothers and people in Syria of unity and jihad and against coming close to any of these groups,” said Zawahri as quoted by Reuters.

The news came as no surprise, particularly after the publication last week of the defense consultancy IHS Jane's report about almost half of the rebel forces fighting against the Syrian government being either hardline Islamists or open jihadists with strong Al-Qaeda links.

Already in July it had become obvious that there was a coolness between most active jihadists and FSA fighters, when a senior figure of the rebel Free Syrian Army was executed by Al-Qaeda-linked militants during negotiations.

http://rt.com/op-edge/jihadists-syria-clash-moderate-arming-076/

[oberliner]

18. "activists and Islamist sources"

That means what exactly?

[Comrade Grumpy]

19. Uh, people who are there?

[oberliner]

20. What is the difference between an activist and an Islamist source?

How are those labels determined exactly?