Al-Qaeda Severs Ties With ‘al-Qaeda in Iraq’

Affirms Jabhat al-Nusra as Their Official Faction in Syria

In a move that’s going to cause no end of confusion in the naming of factions in the Syrian Civil War, al-Qaeda’s general command today announced that they have severed all ties with the “Islamic State of Iraq and Syria” (ISIS) faction, colloquially known as al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI).

ISIS is the more recent name AQI gave itself in 2012 when it expanded into Syria. The group was endorsed by al-Qaeda’s parent organization in 2004, during the US occupation of Iraq, and appeared to remain so throughout the war.

But al-Qaeda has another dog in the fight in Syria, Jabhat al-Nusra. The group is directly affiliated with the parent al-Qaeda, despite a failed attempt by AQI to “merge” the two organizations under their direct control.

Having two al-Qaedas in Syria (and arguably three, since the Islamic Front’s leadership includes a number of self-proclaimed al-Qaeda members) wasn’t a problem until the past few weeks, when rebel infighting began spiraling out of control and Jabhat al-Nusra began engaging in open fights with AQI/ISIS. This led Western media outlets to dub Jabhat the “good al-Qaeda,” and AQI the “bad al-Qaeda.” Apparently al-Qaeda sees things much the same way.

A top pro-al-Qaeda Saudi cleric, who has moved to Syria to oversee the assorted jihads ongoing there, echoed al-Qaeda’s sentiment as well, urging fighters loyal to AQI to defect to Jabhat al-Nusra, or failing that at least join the Islamic Front.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.