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24Nov15

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Al Nusrah Front fights Iraqi militia in Aleppo

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The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda's official branch in Syria, has released a photo report from southern Aleppo showing the aftermath of its fight against "Iranian forces" and "Rafidi [derogatory term referring to Shia Muslims] militias." The fighting took place near Tal Mamou, which sits to the southeast of Aleppo city in the countryside. The Jaysh al Fateh coalition, which was co-founded by Al Nusrah, recently announced a counter-attack on regime forces in southern Aleppo.

The photos show Al Nusrah targeting its enemies with tanks and heavy machine guns, as well as the corpses of fighters from the Iraqi Shiite militia Asaib al Haq, or League of the Righteous.

Asaib al Haq is considered by the US government to be one of the most dangerous Iranian-supported Shiite militias. The group's leader, Qais Qazali, was directly involved in the killing of US soldiers and was in US custody from 2007 until his release as part of a hostage exchange in late 2009. Qazili has since threatened US interests in Iraq. One of Asaib al Haq's former leaders, Akram al Kaabi, is also a US-designated terrorist. [See LWJ reports, US sanctions Iranian general for aiding Iraqi terror groups, US releases 'dangerous' Iranian proxy behind the murder of US troops and Iranian-backed Shia terror leader freed by US threatens to attack.]

Kaabi now leads Harakat al Nujaba, another Iranian-backed militia that operates in both Iraq and Syria. Harakat al Nujaba has also taken part in the fighting in Aleppo.

Al Nusrah previously showcased the US-made Humvees it captured from yet another Iranian-backed militia, the Hezbollah Brigades, in southern Aleppo.

[Source: By Caleb Weiss, Threat Matrix, The Long War Journal, NJ, 24Nov15]

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This document has been published on 30Nov15 by the Equipo Nizkor and Derechos Human Rights. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.