Syrian Qaeda wing pledges loyalty to ISIL in border town
Source: Reuters
Syrian Qaeda wing pledges loyalty to ISIL in border town
BEIRUT Wed Jun 25, 2014 12:34pm EDT
(Reuters) - Syria's al Qaeda wing has pledged loyalty to the rival Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group in a Syrian border town, a monitoring group said, boosting ISIL's control on both sides of the frontier.
Fighters from Nusra Front, the Syrian wing of al Qaeda, took an oath of allegiance to ISIL in the town of Albu Kamal, close to the Iraqi border, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and an Islamist website said on Wednesday.
The central leadership of al Qaeda has disowned ISIL and proclaimed the Nusra Front as its official Syrian affiliate.
Controlling parts of Syria's Deir al-Zor province, where Albu Kamal is located, could help ISIL link up its territorial gains across Syria and Iraq, where it overran the main northern city of Mosul on June 10.
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