A BROAD COALITION: Al-Qaeda’s Islamic State of Iraq And The Levant Says It Will Join Forces With US-Backed Free Syrian Army Units To Avenge Chemical Weapons Attack By Regime

 A Coalition of the Willing

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, one of two al Qaeda affiliates operating in Syria, announced that it would coordinate with other Syrian rebel groups, including the Free Syrian Army, to take revenge for a chemical weapons attack last week in the capital that is said to have killed more than 300 people.

The ISIL released a statement yesterday that was signed by seven other “jihadi factions” operating in Eastern Ghouta, a district in the Syrian capital where the chemical attack is said to have taken place. The statement, which was released yesterday on an official Twitter account associated with the ISIL, was obtained and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.

The decision to conduct joint operations against the Syrian government and military was made “after the meeting that was called for by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant for all the jihadi factions in Eastern Ghouta,” the ISIL said, according to SITE.

The operation is to be called the “Volcano of Revenge,” and the targets are “the main joints of the regime in imprisoned Damascus, including security branches, support and supply points, training centers, and infrastructure (electricity, internet).”

Seven other groups signed onto the ISIL statement, including at least two Free Syrian Army units. The groups that signed the statement are the Ahrar al Sham Islamic Movement, a large, independent jihadist group; the Ahrar Dimashq Battalion, which is described as “The Combat Engineering Brigade of the Muhajireen,” or Muhajireen Army, an al Qaeda-linked group; the Abu Dhar al Ghafari Brigade, an ISIL unit in Damascus; the Al Habib Al Mustafa Brigades, a Free Syrian Army unit and its ‘Issa bin Maryam Battalion; the Al Furqan Brigade, another Free Syrian Army unit; the Umm al Qura Battalion; and the Deraa al-’Asima Brigade (Lebanon Capital Shield Brigade).

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