Syria

Al-Qaeda-linked terrorists seize FSA base in Syria

338707_Syria-militants-AleppoAl-Qaeda-linked terrorists in Syria have seized a base belonging to the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA), as infighting grows among foreign-backed militants in the Arab country.

Militants from the Islamic Front captured general staff positions of the western-backed FSA near the Bab el-Hawa border crossing with Turkey on Saturday, AFP quoted the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights as saying.

Pro-Qaeda militants also seized arms that had been brought from Turkey.

It came only four days after the Islamic Front announced that it does not accept the authority of the FSA command.

The foreign-backed FSA was the first militant group that emerged in Syria in 2011. Many other groups have been created since then and many of them operate with a high degree of autonomy from the FSA.

The Islamic Front was formed earlier in November in the Middle Eastern country after six major Takfiri militant groups fighting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government joined forces.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since March 2011.

Analysts from an arm of the British defense consultant, IHS Jane’s, and from a nonprofit think tank in London estimate that over 15,000 foreign militants, including Americans and Europeans, are fighting in Syria.

The US and some of its allies, including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Qatar openly support the militancy in Syria.

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