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Jordan's Salafists switch allegiance to IS

As militant alliances continue to shift, Jordan's strategic stance on Salafist groups has become ever more complex.
Radical Muslim cleric Abu Qatada (R) listens to Islamist scholar Sheik Abu Mohammad al Maqdisi during a celebration after his release from a prison near Amman September 24, 2014. Abu Qatada walked free from a Jordanian jail on Wednesday after being cleared of charges of conspiring in a plot to attack tourists - his second acquittal this year following a long extradition process from Britain. The state security court in the capital Amman ruled that the charges against the radical preacher - providing spiritu
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AMMAN, Jordan — The rise of the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria and the latter’s civil war have resulted in massive repercussions on the Salafi jihadist scene in Jordan, recently marked by an evolution in the group’s internal dynamics. 

There are about 2,000 Salafi jihadists currently fighting in Syria, according to experts. In an interview with Al-Monitor, researcher Hassan Abu Haniya said he believes the number to be slightly lower, with 1,200 currently deployed there and about 350 killed in the conflict.

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