The Syrian Revolutionaries Front and the Hazm movement, two of the main groups slated to benefit from the plan to “train and equip” moderate Syrian rebels, have taken a severe blow on the battlefield, just as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sought to promote the “train and equip” program as a precondition for Turkey’s support against the Islamic State (IS). The blow was dealt by Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaeda’s franchise in Syria.
IS’ declaration of a caliphate following its capture of Mosul in June came as a severe setback for Jabhat al-Nusra, when many of its fighters swore allegiance to the new “caliph” Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leading the group to cede its positions in Deir ez-Zor to IS. In recent days, however, the group made some surprise moves to make up for its losses.
