Al Qaeda 'Disowns' Affiliate In Syria - Blames It for Disaster in Syria: Its Attacks On Other Rebel Groups Diverts Focus On Government Overthrow

The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant seeks to kill anyone who disagrees with
it, rendering formation of a coalition against the Syrian government impossible.
(Portrait of Syrian President Assad among trash: Photo via Freedom House)

By Tim Lister
Al Qaeda appears to have had enough of one of its affiliates fighting in Syria: the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. The group has been locked in conflict with other Islamist factions and gained a grim reputation for abuses in parts of Syria it controls, including summary executions and mass killings.

A statement posted on jihadist forums Sunday and purportedly issued by al Qaeda's General Command said "it has no connection with the group" and blamed it for "the enormity of the disaster that afflicted the Jihad in Syria."

The al Qaeda statement, translated by the SITE Intelligence Group, follows more than a month of intense factional fighting between the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant with other Islamist groups in northern and eastern Syria.

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