"Al Qaeda Says It Has Broken Ties With Syrian Affiliate" is an article published today by the New York Times.
"In a statement distributed on jihadist websites, the Qaeda leadership said it no longer had any connection with the affiliate, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, also known as the Islamic State of Syria and the Levant, which has asserted an increasingly important role in the Syrian conflict and stoked the enmity of other groups fighting to topple the government of President Bashar al-Assad," the article reads.
"The motivation for severing the relationship appeared to reflect the Qaeda leadership’s own effort to assert more influence over the jihadist elements of the Syrian insurgency and not side with one faction or another. The statement said Al Qaeda disapproved of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and had “ordered it to stop” acting in Al Qaeda’s name."
Another article dedicated to the same topic was published today by the Washington Post headlined "Al-Qaeda disavows any ties with radical Islamist ISIS group in Syria, Iraq."
"The rejection leaves Jabhat al-Nusra, which is widely regarded as more moderate than the hardline ISIS, as al-Qaeda’s officially anointed affiliate in Syria, where a multitude of armed groups are battling to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and also, in some places, one another. It also means that al-Qaeda no longer has a representative in Iraq, where ISIS originated and where it poses a significant challenge to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s control over the country," the article reads.
