Over 1000 dead in Syria terrorist infighting

More than one thousand foreign-sponsored militants have been killed in fierce clashes among Takfiri groups in Syria over the past days, Press TV reports.

Clashes have been mainly taking place between militants from the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and their rivals over the past 10 days.

The latest battles have occurred in the northern parts of Syria. The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies heavily on a network of spies working for the foreign-backed opposition, said on Tuesday that militants from the ISIL seized the northern Syrian city of Raqqah following days of clashes with rival Takfiri groups.

The ISIL has been battling a coalition of foreign-backed militants in areas across northern Syria.

Earlier this week, the al-Qaeda-linked group seized the town of Bab in the northern province of Aleppo from rival militant groups.

A British defense study showed last year that about 100,000 militants, fragmented into 1,000 groups, were fighting in Syria against the government and people.

The extracts of the study by defense consultancy IHS Jane’s were published on September 16, 2013, revealing that some 10,000 militants were fighting for groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and the rest fighting for different militant groups.

Syria has been gripped by a deadly conflict since 2011, with western powers and their regional allies – especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey -supporting the militants operating inside the country.

More than 100,000 people have been killed and a total of 7.8 million others displaced due to the violence, says the United Nations