As the BBC reports, Julani announced that his group would be renamed Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, which translates to “Front for the Conquest of Syria/the Levant”, and will have “no affiliation to any external entity”.
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Attempts of Jabhat al-Nusra to paint itself differently by changing its name are vain, the group remains an illegal terrorist organization, fight against it will continue until it is fully destroyed, a Russian Foreign Ministry commentary said on Friday.
In January, a report by the Institute for the Study of War and American Enterprise Institute said al Nusra was a greater threat to the United States in the long term than ISIS, making the United States’ focus on the latter group misguided.
Breaking with al-Qaida, even if only in name, also could hurt Nusra: It loses the brand name that drew many of its fighters to its ranks. But others have been cooler, like the hardline Islamist Ahrar al-Sham, which has tried to stay closer to the mainstream Syrian opposition.
Nusra has been al-Qaida branch in Syria and one of the most powerful armed groups fighting the government. “This was done not only with permission, but under Al-Qaeda’s guidance”, said a researcher in Washington, DC, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The group retains its Islamic militant ideology and commitment to jihad, and the formal break was carried out with the blessing of al-Qaida’s central leadership, which recognized it was needed to protect the group.
Following the start of the war in 2011, al-Qaeda sent Jolani to Syria to establish a branch that could launch attacks against the regime.
He says al-Qaida would have no problem with “any possible action” al-Nusra’s leaders take to boost unity among anti-Assad rebel factions and form a “new generation” of fighters.
CNN quoted analysts who also made an interesting case that the Nusra “rebranding” and the involvement of al-Qaeda second-in-command Masri are an indication Masri – supposedly “under arrest” in Iran, with the details rather murky, until recently – is actually in Syria, and may be preparing to take charge of al-Qaeda from Zawahiri.
One of the biggest terrorism players in Syria, Jabhat al-Nusra, just distanced itself from its parent organization, Al Qaeda, in what analysts see as a savvy political maneuver. “We judge a group by – by what they do, not by what they call themselves”.
The decision of al-Nusra Front to split from al-Qaeda came following eight months of negotiations, which culminated on Thursday by a voice recording broadcasted by al-Qaeda.
State television said the army had advanced in the Bani Zeid district, on the southern side of the Castello road. USA officials tell VOA they will remain highly skeptical of al-Nusra’s intentions and motives, following the announcement of the severing of ties with al-Qaida.
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Rebels and residents of Aleppo said they were deeply skeptical of the offer, and there was no immediate sign of people massing to leave the besieged parts of the city.
