Infighting among Al-Qaeda-Linked Gangs Rages in Southern Syria

The Al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorist group stepped up its offensive against rival Jaysh Al-Islam in Eastern Ghouta in Damascus countryside in the Southern parts of Syria.

Fierce clashes between these two groups have increased in the recent week in Syria as the ISIL attacked Jaysh Al-Islam’s positions in Al-Ashari region in Eastern Ghouta, killing a large number of the rival militants and holding as captive many others.

Jaysh Al-Islam in a statement announced that the ISIL is fighting against the Sunni Muslims.

After the victory of President Bashar Al-Assad in the recent presidential election in Syria, the differences among opposition groups have increased. The ISIL, the Al-Nusra Front, the Free Syrian Army (FSA), Ahrar Al-Sham and Jaysh Al-Islam have waged war against each other.

Jaysh al-Islam (meaning Army of Islam in Arabic language), formerly known as Liwa al-Islam (or the Brigade of Islam), is a merger of many militant groups involved in the Syrian War. It operates chiefly in the Damascus neighborhoods of Douma and Eastern Ghouta. The group is part of the Islamic Front.

The clashes between the Al-Nusra Front and the ISIL have prompted 60,000 people to flee towns in the oil-rich province of Deir Ezzur, while tens of thousands of others have escaped from other regions due to the infightings.