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ISIS vs. al Qaeda: The Jihadist Divide
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Why Al-Qaeda Kicked Out Its Deadly
Syria Franchise
Feb. 3,
2014
After a protracted turf battle, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria finds itself on the outs. That will likely make things even more dangerous
Early
Monday morning the leadership of al-Qaeda disowned the Islamic State of Iraq
and greater Syria (ISIS), the most effective of its two franchises fighting in
Syria, in a maneuver that could alter the trajectory of the fight against
President Bashar Assad. In a message posted on jihadi websites the al-Qaeda
general command stated that its former affiliate “is not a branch of the
al-Qaeda group [and al-Qaeda] does not have an organizational relationship with
it and is not the group responsible for their actions.”
The
move had been a long time in the making. Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri has
grown increasingly frustrated with ISIS, ever since Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, head of al-Qaeda in Iraq, expanded
into the Syrian conflict in April and attempted to bring the local al-Qaeda
franchise, the Nusra Front, under his control. Zawahiri intervened in May,
admonishing Baghdadi to go back to Iraq, but Baghdadi refused, snapping back in
a terse audio recording. “I have to choose between the rule of God and the rule
of Zawahiri, and I choose the rule of God.” It was a rare demonstration of
defiance in an organization that demands absolute loyalty. Nonetheless,
Zawahiri seemed prepared to let the matter lie, apparently in recognition of
Baghdadi’s growing strength; by that time, ISIS, recently strengthened by an
influx of foreign fighters, had taken control of the Syrian city of Raqqa. That
brought al-Qaeda the closest it had ever been to achieving a longterm goal —
establishing an Islamic state.
But
ISIS’s savagery and draconian interpretations of Islamic law alienated many
Syrians and drove a wedge between rebel groups. On Jan. 3, fighting broke out
between ISIS and a new alliance that included the Nusra Front. ISIS has managed
to stand its ground, but this most recent al-Qaeda announcement could lead to a
greater conflagration. Al-Qaeda central may not have been able to stop Baghdadi
outright, but the threat of excommunication seemed to have reined in his worst
tendencies — his deadly campaign of suicide-bomb attacks in Iraq has not yet
been replicated in Syria to the same degree. ISIS is now likely to lash out
with increased attacks as it tries to prove its efficacy in spite of losing its
valuable al-Qaeda designation.
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Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi contested al-Zawahiri's
ruling and the group continued to operate in Syria. (AFP)
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INTERNET SOURCE: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2721417/So-wicked-Al-Qaeda-disowned-Letter-Bin-Ladens-hideout-warned-Islamic-States-extreme-brutality.html
So wicked that even Al Qaeda disowned them: Letter found at Bin Laden's hideout warned of Islamic State's extreme brutality
- 21-page letter found at the Pakistan hideout where Bin Laden was killed
- Note said Islamic State of Iraq and Syria could damage Al Qaeda's reputation
- Memo documented acts of barbarism including bombing mosques
- ISIS, now called Islamic State, has control of area larger than Great Britain
Lying
among a pile of papers at the hideout in Pakistan where Osama Bin Laden was
shot dead was a carefully worded 21-page letter.
It
warned of the rise of a new and ruthless group of Islamic extremists capable of
such extreme brutality that Al Qaeda should sever all links with them.
In
fact, it claimed the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (or ISIS) had such
complete disregard for civilian life that it could damage the reputation of Al
Qaeda – if such a thing were possible for an organisation that has long traded
in murderous terrorism.
The document, written by one of Bin Laden’s senior officials in 2011, went on to catalogue some of its acts of barbarism – including the use of chlorine gas as a chemical weapon, bombing mosques and a massacre in a Catholic church in Baghdad.
In
essence, the letter said that ISIS was simply too extreme even for the group
that killed thousands in the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001.
Today,
ISIS, which now styles itself as simply Islamic State (IS), has become a
powerful military force that has control of an area larger than Great Britain.
Living
under its ultra-conservative interpretation of Islam are six million people, a population
larger than that of Ireland, Denmark or Finland.
Its
trademark black jihadi flag has fluttered in the background of chilling
‘promotional’ videos of executions – including crucifixions and beheadings – as
the militia seizes vast areas of Iraq and Syria. In short, the ‘caliphate’ – or
Islamic state – it claims to have established represents the biggest shift in
the political geography of the Middle East since the borders of modern
Iraq and Syria were drawn under the Sykes-Picot agreement drafted between
Britain and France in 1916.
To
understand the threat Islamic State poses to the region, it first needs to be
appreciated how it has grown into a force to rival Al Qaeda.
The
group was founded by 43-year-old Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, a firebrand cleric held
prisoner for four years by American troops in Iraq.
The
leader, a Sunni Muslim who despises the Shia-run Iraqi government, now commands
more than 10,000 fighters, many of them former Saddam Hussein-era soldiers or
disenchanted Sunnis who lost power and influence after the fall of the
dictator’s regime.
More
worryingly, foreign Islamic extremists, including about 500 Britons, have
joined IS to fight in Syria and Iraq.
The
group controls valuable oil fields and, with the help of wealthy Sunni backers
from the Gulf states, is estimated to have amassed a staggering £1.2billion. It
has even sold 8,000-year-old antiquities it has seized.
But
its real assets lie in the fanatical loyalty of its fighters (they all swear
allegiance to IS) and the state-of-the-art weaponry they now possess.
Much
of its armoury was seized during a lightning advance several weeks ago, when
fleeing Iraqi troops abandoned the artillery and armoured vehicles that
they had been given by US forces.
With
captured American Humvees and the latest precision firepower, it is more
than a match for the formidable Kurdish peshmerga – which defends the
Kurds’ semi-autonomous region in the north – and its 12.7mm Soviet-era machine
guns and outdated Russian T-55 tanks.
As
Ali Khedery, a former American official who advised US generals in Iraq, has
said: ‘They are literally outgunned by an IS that is fighting with hundreds of
millions of dollars of US military equipment seized from the Iraqi Army,
which abandoned it.’
So
it would be naive in the extreme to think of Islamic State as a motley crew of
scrappers.
A
force capable of meting out so much wanton violence is invariably led by
commanders who rule with an iron will.
But
what marks them out as being particularly savvy is the way they have used
social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook to create a digital ‘public
relations’ machine to promote their jihad and strike fear into the hearts of
their enemies.
Any
fighter on the ground can film an act of brutality and upload the footage in a
matter of minutes – although some videos of botched amputations or killings
have led to a clampdown by IS commanders. One Spanish fighter promised to
upload a film of a man being crucified for his friends back home, but was
quickly reprimanded by his superiors.
His
later contrite posting simply read, ‘Our leadership forbade anyone filming it.’
However,
the videos already in circulation have already created a climate of
terror.
Some
opposition soldiers, particularly in Syria, are defecting to the group. After
all, IS has money – some of which is said to have come through private
donations from Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Equally,
those captured by the militia face a stark choice – defect or die.
Despite
being trained by American troops, the Iraqi army has proven worryingly
ineffective in taking on this threat.
It’s why the terrorists now control
much of the north of the country. They have also seized a former chemical
weapons plant and a large dam that could be blown up to flood the regions
downstream.
The
populations of the Kurdish capital of Irbil, as well as the national capital
Baghdad, are now in no doubt as to the fate that would befall them if these
Sunni extremists prevail.
If
IS cannot be stopped, they are clinging to the hope that rescue will come in
the form of Iran, which supports Iraq’s Shia-led government, or the US.
However,
both countries are reluctant to commit troops on the ground in the political
and religious quagmire of Iraq.
Abu
Bakr al Baghdadi knows this only too well.
It
is why his IS troops have been so emboldened to sweep across much of Syria and
northern Iraq in recent weeks. In the past fortnight they have fought on five
fronts: against the Iraqi army, the Kurdish peshmerga, Bashar Al-Assad’s Syrian
regime, the Syrian opposition and the Lebanese army.
When
he was released by the American military police from the Camp Bucca detention
facility in Umm Qasr, where he was held as an insurgent, al Baghdadi said
ominously: ‘I will see you guys in New York.’
A
fanciful threat?
Perhaps
not, when you consider that the greatest threat Islamic State poses to the
world is that this so-called caliphate becomes a training ground for
international terrorism, and unleashes an army of extremists against the West
to kill and maim far from the bloodsoaked deserts of Iraq.
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