Al Qaeda's senior leadership has disowned the Islamic State of Iraq
and the Sham (ISIS) in a statement released online. ISIS and its leader,
Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, have repeatedly refused to obey orders issued by
Ayman al Zawahiri and his subordinates. As a result, al Qaeda's general
command -- commonly referred to as al Qaeda's senior leadership (AQSL)
in the West -- has cut off the group.
Al Qaeda's senior leaders now say they have "no connection" with
ISIS, which is "not an affiliate with the al Qaeda group and has no
organizational relation with it." Furthermore, al Qaeda's general
command is "not responsible" for ISIS' actions.
"The branches of al Qaeda are the ones that the General Command of
the group announces and recognizes," the statement reads, according to a
translation obtained by The Long War Journal. "We emphasize our loyalty, love, and support for every mujahid. We are keen on the fellowship among Muslims and mujahideen."
The statement is clearly intended to distance al Qaeda's leaders from
ISIS' approach to the Syrian war. ISIS has made exclusionary claims on
power and refused to recognize the legitimacy of other jihadist groups.
Background on dispute
The dispute between ISIS and AQSL became public in the middle of last year. On April 8, 2013, Baghdadi tried to subsume control over the Al Nusrah Front,
which is led by one of Baghdadi's former lieutenants, Abu Muhammad al
Julani. Baghdadi claimed that Al Nusrah would be folded into the Islamic
State of Iraq's operations and the new combined entity would be called
the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham (ISIS).
Baghdadi's plan did not come to fruition. Shortly after Baghdadi's announcement, Julani issued his own message
rejecting it. Julani conceded that Baghdadi and the Islamic State of
Iraq (ISI) had helped establish the Al Nusrah Front, but he reaffirmed
his allegiance to Ayman al Zawahiri directly. Julani said his group
would continue to fight under its own banner and not answer to Baghdadi.
The public spat forced Zawahiri to step in. On April 11, 2013,
Zawahiri wrote letters to both Baghdadi and Julani, demanding that they
report to him on the dispute. After consulting with al Qaeda's shura
(advisory) council, Zawahiri issued a ruling on May 23.
Zawahiri dissolved Baghdadi's ISIS and said its operations should be
confined to Iraq. He also chastised Julani for publicly announcing his
allegiance to al Qaeda's emir.
On June 14, 2013, Baghdadi rejected Zawahiri's order in an audio message released online.
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- This site is the inspiration of a former reporter/photographer for one of New England's largest daily newspapers and for various magazines. The intent is to direct readers to interesting political articles, and we urge you to visit the source sites. Any comments may be noted on site or directed to KarisChaf at gmail.
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
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