Nusra Front runs Qaeda operations in Syria: Zawahiri

Al-Qaeda leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, has announced that the al-Nusra Front will carry the group’s banner in the Syria conflict, ordering the Iraqi faction of al-Qaeda to stop interfering in Syria.

Zawahiri’s remarks were made in an audiotape broadcasted by al-Jazeera on Friday.

The al-Qaeda leader said al-Nusra was the network’s only branch in Syria that is tasked with reporting “to the general command,” and that it would not work under the leadership of al-Qaeda’s Iraq affiliate.

“The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is to be abolished, while the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) remains functioning,” Zawahiri also said.

He added that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the head of al-Qaeda in Iraq, “has made a mistake by establishing the Islamic state of Iraq and the Levant without asking for our permission, or even informing us.”

The dispute between al-Qaeda factions came in April, when Baghdadi claimed that al-Nusra united with his branch in Syria. However, al-Nusra commander, Abu Mohammad al-Jawlani, rejected the claim, affirming allegiance to Zawahiri.

The tape also confirmed a letter reportedly written by Zawahiri in June, that was addressed to the heads of the network’s branches in both countries.

The al-Nusra Front was created in January 2012 and has been behind many of the deadly bombings targeting both civilians and government institutions across Syria.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011.

Saudi Arabia is reportedly training foreign-backed militants in Syria as part of a new push to topple the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

The kingdom has teamed up with Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and France in adopting the new policy to bolster the militants in Syria, the Foreign Policy magazine reported.

Other reports also said that the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as well as Saudi Arabia and Jordan have supplied about 600 tons of weapons in 2013 alone to the militants in Syria.

According to statistics compiled by the United Nations, more than 100,000 people have been killed and millions displaced due to the unrest that erupted in Syria in March 2011.