Nusra regroups after airstrikes

YALLA YALLA: Fighters with al-Qaida franchise Jabhat a-Nusra abandon their headquarters in Idlib province, heading for an unknown location to avoid further casualties after US-led coalition warplanes killed 30 Nusra members Tuesday, reported the pro-opposition monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Among the dead was Nusra commander and renowned sniper Abu Yusuf a-Turki, whose picture circulated on social media websites Tuesday.

In one attack, warplanes struck a Nusra command center in Idlib province, resulting in 15 dead, “most of them civilians” including several children, the Violations Documentation Center in Syria said on Wednesday.

The coalition attacks appear to be pushing some members of Nusra into the Islamic State (IS) fold, although the two groups have been at violent odds since February.

“Whatever happened between us and the Islamic State, they are our brothers and the ties of doctrine and brotherhood between us are bigger than anything else,” Abu Musab al-Maqdasi, a Nusra leader, said in audio footage circulated on YouTube Tuesday.

“We are prepared to fight on their side” against the “Crusader alliance.”

–September 24, 2014

– Photo courtesy of @Ansaar_Gbhat.

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