Analysts say the Nusra Front made a decision to rebrand itself after the USA and Russian Federation stepped up their military efforts against the group, reported BBC.
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On that note, Jolani actually thanked his “brothers” in Al-Qaeda in the speech, and said “their blessed leadership has and shall continue to be an exemplar of putting the needs of the community and their higher interests before the interest of any individual group”. The U.S.is exploring a possible partnership with Moscow against Jabhat al Nusra, moreover.
“This is a step from us, and a call from us, to all the factions in Sham [Syria] to unify in what Allah approves of, and to work together”, said the deputy, Ahmed Hassan Abu al-Khayr, in a video released by Jabhat al-Nusra.
“We judge any organization, including this one, much more by its actions, its ideology, its goals”, added State Department spokesman John Kirby.
Foreign fighters in particular could become disillusioned since many of them were drawn by the al-Qaida link and see their participation in the Syria war in more universal terms of global jihad rather than as simply a campaign to oust Assad, said Sam Heller, a Beirut-based analyst who writes about the Syria war. In other words, Julani thinks his group has been unfairly targeted because it was linked to al-Qaeda, and now that it has been formally rebranded as an independent entity, foreign powers will no longer have an excuse to bomb them. “By breaking our link, we aim to protect the Syrian revolution”.
He also urged the Nusra Front to unite with other factions against “Crusaders” and form a good “Islamic government”.
Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the leader of the deadly al-Nusra Front in Syria, has been head of the terror group since 2012.
Jabhat al Nusra, the Nusra Front, announced today that it was establishing its own jihadist organization and would no longer be under the al-Qaeda jihadist umbrella.
“Al-Qaeda is playing a critically important role in shaping this development and their thinking and strategizing will remain crucial for this new Jabhat Fateh al-Sham movement”, he said. “It will still be viciously sectarian, and it will still ultimately seek the establishment of an Islamic emirate in Syria and the potential launching of external attacks on the West”.
“You can sacrifice without hesitation these organisational and party ties if they conflict with your unity and working as one body”, Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri said in the audio statement.
On Thursday, Russia announced the start of the “humanitarian operation” in Aleppo in collaboration with the Syrian regime, while Assad said rebels who surrendered within three months would be amnestied.
And referring to the USA and Russian Federation specifically, he criticized their “relentless bombardment and displacement of the Muslim masses of the Levant under the pretence of targeting Nusra Front, an Al-Qaeda affiliate”.
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Al-Nusra, which has 7,000-8,000 fighters according to Syria specialist Thomas Pierret, is considered by Washington as a “terrorist” group.
