BENJAMIN WEINTHAL: SYRIAN REBELS FACE GROWING THREAT FROM FOREIGN JIHADISTS…….

KGS

Syria is a toxic stew of  totalitarians fighting for control

It’s now undeniable, whatever ‘moderate’ forces that were leading the FSA, are now overshadowed by the al-Qaida linked jihadist groups that have flooded the area. It has been always doubtful whether the leaders of the FSA were ever truly ‘moderates’ in the Western sense of the word, being comprised of Syrian Muslim Brotherhood members from the very beginning.

That argument has now been rendered moot.

A new 13-member formation calling itself the Islamic Alliance announced on Tuesday its decision to cut ties with the Syrian National Coalition. The Islamic Alliance declared its intention to build a state based on Islamic Sharia law. It would be a powerful setback for the U.S. and the Syrian National Coalition—an exile political organization for Syrians—if the rebel groups who have connections or affiliations with the pro-Western  Free Syrian Army remain committed to the radical Islamic program of the new group.

Syrian rebels face growing threat from foreign jihadists

By Benjamin Weinthal

FoxNews.com

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  An estimated 500,000 Syrian refugees have fled to camps in Turkey. (AFP)

JARABULUS, SYRIA –  The man’s face was badly mangled and he was unconscious when fellow Syrian rebels brought him on a gurney from the outskirts of this small village across the border to the neighboring Turkish town Karkamis.

His name and prognosis were not clear, but what was known was that he was a casualty of his own comrades – a victim of the infighting among Syrian rebel groups which is also taking a bloody toll on refugees displaced by the more than two-year-old civil war. Freedom-minded Syrian rebels point their fingers at Al Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, known by the acronym ISIS, which earlier this month announced a campaign of “cleansing evil” directed at moderate pro-Western opposition groups.

More here.