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Source: https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/commentaryanalysis/all-against-all-in-syria
All Against All in Syria
(NOW-Lebanon) Michael Young - The strategy of ISIS and another al-Qaeda-affiliated group, Jabhat al-Nusra, has been far less about fighting the Assad regime than about tightening control over a swathe of territory stretching from western Iraq to northern Syria. Clashes between rebels of the Free Syrian Army and the al-Qaeda groups have escalated, a situation that the Assad regime has welcomed and indirectly encouraged. The Syrian regime has generally avoided attacking the al-Qaeda groups, and has even collaborated with them in certain districts. This has allowed the jihadists to gain ground and in that way confirm the regime's narrative that it is the last line of defense against extremism. Assad is effectively using the al-Qaeda-affiliated groups against the Free Syrian Army in places where his army does not have the ability to fight.