Intense Infighting Reported between Al-Nusra Front, Ahrar Al-Sham Commanders in Syria

The Saudi Mufti, Mosleh al-Aliani, affiliated to the al-Nusra Front, accused Ahrar al-Sham’s council of disrupting plans for merging with al-Nusra Front.

He said despite the fact that Abu Ammar al-Umar, the commander of Ahrar al-Sham, had agreed with plans to merge with Fatah al-Sham and Nur al-Din Zanki groups, Ahrar al-Sham’s council has prevented its implementation and voted against it fearing that it might be included in the globally declared terrorist organizations.

Abu al-Bara Ma’arshamarin, a senior commander of Ahrar al-Sham, also dismissed Mosleh al-Aliani’s claims, adding that no voting has happened at Ahrar al-Sham’s council on joining other militant groups.

Hessam Salamah, another senior commander, also said that the Al-Nusra Front has rejected the meeting which was due to be held without any prerequisite and delayed the merger plan, stressing that it should be entrusted with the post of deputy Emir and military commander. This is while commanders of all other terrorist groups had admitted to enter the talks without preconditions.

Field sources in Syria reported on Tuesday that a group affiliated to al-Nusra Front in the Southern parts of Idlib has killed two ringleaders of the ‘Idlib Free Army’ in Ma’rat Harama village.

“A security unit of al-Nusra Front attacked the headquarters of the Idlib Free Army and fled the scene after killing two field commanders of the group, namely Younis Zariq and Ahmad al-Khatib,” the sources said on Tuesday.

According to the sources, another group also attacked an outpost set up by Ahrar al-Sham militants in al-Habit village in Southern Idlib and killed three members of the terrorist group.