ISIS-linked Syrian commander killed by rival faction
Abu Ali al-Baridi, head of Al-Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade and nicknamed ‘The Uncle’, was killed in a suicide attack by al-Nusra Front
The leader of a militant Syrian faction that had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group was killed on Sunday in a suicide attack by rival extremists, a monitoring group said.
“Abu Ali al-Baridi, head of Al-Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade and nicknamed ‘The Uncle’, was killed in a suicide attack by al-Nusra Front,” al-Qaeda’s Syria affiliate, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said Baridi and two of his group’s top leaders were killed in the town of Jamlah in the southern Syrian province of Daraa bordering Jordan.
Baridi’s faction pledged allegiance to ISIS in 2014 and operated in the south of the country, Abdel Rahman said.
Al-Nusra’s official Twitter account confirmed it had attacked Baridi, calling it a “heroic infiltration operation”.
The two factions had been clashing in Daraa “for months”, Abdel Rahman told AFP, adding that al-Nusra fighters fired celebratory gunshots when they learned “The Uncle” had been killed.
At least 32 fighters from al-Nusra, al-Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade and Islamist groups died in intra-rebel clashes earlier this week.
“With this assassination, al-Nusra has asserted its control on the southwestern front of Daraa province, near the border with the (Israeli-occupied) Golan,” Abdel Rahman said.
Daraa province is largely under opposition control and is dominated by the pro-West Southern Front alliance, while the provincial capital is divided between regime and rebel forces.
Al-Nusra and ISIS were originally both part of al-Qaeda’s network in Syria, but ISIS split into its own faction in early 2014 and the groups have been fighting each other ever since.
-
Nusra Front issues bounties for Assad, Nasrallah
Head of Al-Nusra Front Abu Mohamed al-Golani said he would pay ‘three million euros ($3.4 million) for anyone who can kill Bashar al-Assad’ Middle East -
Russia strikes kill 39 civilians, 14 ISIS, Nusra Front militants
Since the start of Russian air strikes at least 14 militants and 39 civilians had been killed Middle East -
U.S. stops sending new Syria recruits to troubled rebel training program
Some of the U.S.-trained rebels handed over some of their equipment to Nusra last week in return for safe passage Middle East -
U.S.-trained Syrian rebels gave ammo to Nusra Front
A U.S. military spokesman said trained Syrian rebels gave equipment to the al Qaeda-linked group in exchange for safe passage Middle East -
Former Bin Laden lieutenant killed in Syria
Abul Hassan al-Tunsi was a leader of Al-Nusra front and arrrived to Syria in 2012 Middle East