On Saturday, October 24, the media reported the death of one of the Egyptians, Abu Suleiman al-Masri, by Syrian government forces in Aleppo.

AiF.ru tells what is known about the terrorist group Jabhat al-Nusra.

Jabhat al-Nusra (translated from Arabic as “Victory Front”) is a terrorist group that is fighting against government troops in Syria. According to the American analytical company IHS, it is the second largest and most influential illegal armed group of the Islamist persuasion. The headquarters of Jabhat al-Nusra is located in the city of Salqin in northwestern Syria. The group controls 15% of the republic’s territory. The UN, as well as the governments of Australia, Great Britain, Russia and the United States, have recognized Jabhat al-Nusra as a terrorist organization. In Russian media, the group is often called the al-Nusra Front.

Management

Jabhat al-Nusra is led by a man operating under a pseudonym Abu Muhammad al-Julani. Lebanese intelligence agencies say al-Julani is around 35-40 years old and is from the Syrian province of Idlib. Al-Julani studied at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Damascus. In 2003, after interrupting his studies, he went to Iraq to fight with the American military in the ranks of Al-Qaeda (this terrorist organization is banned in the Russian Federation).

Number of militants and weapons

According to various sources, up to 30 thousand people are fighting on the side of Jabhat al-Nusra. Initially, the group consisted mainly of militants of Syrian origin. Subsequently, numerous mercenaries from Great Britain, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan and France joined its ranks. Foreigners make up about 30% of Jabhat al-Nusra's personnel.

The action movie became widely known Abu Ahmad, whose height is only 90 cm. In Western media he was nicknamed “Al Chihuahua”.

The group is armed with not only small arms and grenade launchers, but also armored vehicles and aircraft. On September 26, 2015, the Pentagon reported that fighters of the “moderate Syrian opposition” trained by US instructors voluntarily handed over six pickup trucks of American ammunition and ammunition to Jabhat al-Nusra militants.

Goals and objectives

The group’s primary goal is to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and create a caliphate on the territory of the republic, in which everyone will live according to Sharia law. After this, the group intends to “deliver a crushing blow to Israel” in order to expel all Jews from the Middle East.

Financing

Jabhat al-Nusra receives significant funds through donations that come not only from Muslim countries, but also from Europe and the United States. The group recruits mercenaries all over the world, while many, when going to war, sell all their property in order to provide the militants with all possible material support. Extremists also trade in oil, kidnap people for ransom, and control several large flour-grinding enterprises.

Relations with the Islamic State

“Jabhat al-Nusra” and the terrorist group “Islamic State” (IS), banned in the Russian Federation, are at enmity, since the militants do not always manage to divide spheres of influence in peace. The first tensions between the militants began in 2013, when IS declared Jabhat al-Nusra its affiliate. Al-Julani then said in harsh terms that his group was not part of the Islamic State.

Relations with al-Qaeda

Jabhat al-Nusra positions itself as an independent force, which does not prevent it from maintaining friendly relations with al-Qaeda and its leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Unlike the Islamic State group, which finances itself from local resources, such as oil, human trafficking, taxes, robbery of the population, Jabhat al-Nusra is a branch of al-Qaeda in Syria and is financed according to the traditional scheme - from sponsors, which allocate funds for each specific operation.

Until April 2013, Jabhat al-Nusra was a “daughter” force of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), however, due to the problem of subordination to al-Qaeda, an internal conflict broke out, as a result of which in November 2013 the leader of al-Qaeda, Ayman Zawahiri, declared that the only legal representative of al-Qaeda in Syria is Jabhat al-Nusra. At that moment, this was a heavy blow for Jabhat al-Nusra, the organization was 50% financed from Iraq through the sale of oil and gas, but control over Iraqi territory remained with ISIS, and al-Nusra militants faced an acute shortage of funds.

At the beginning of 2014, the head of the organization, Abu Muhammad al-Julani, said that after losing control of the Conoco gas field, his group lost $5 million. But by the end of the year, the organization managed to completely switch to funding more familiar to al-Qaeda - at the expense of their sponsors are the Gulf countries and Turkey.

At the same time, the organization always tried to look for other sources of funding - according to experts, Jabhat al-Nusra militants managed to earn from $4 to $25 million only from the trade in hostages. Moreover, the authorities played the most active role in the negotiation process between al-Nusra and the governments of other countries Qatar, for which they have been repeatedly accused of helping terrorists. For example, according to information in the media in October 2013, al-Nusra received about $150 million just to release Shiite pilgrims from Iran.

The organization's militants were also involved in a number of scandalous kidnappings, such as the capture of Orthodox nuns from Maloula. Subsequently, they were exchanged for 4 militants of the organization and $4 million. In September 2016, 45 peacekeepers from Fiji were kidnapped in the Golan Heights - under the pretext that they were helping the Syrian government. They paid $20-$25 million for them, although no official organization admits that a ransom was paid.

It is also worth noting that al-Nusra militants in the occupied territories copied the tactics of the Islamic State and created their own administrative structures - courts, social services, and government institutions. This organization allowed them to demand taxes from the population: on profit, income and specific ones, for example, a tax for water irrigation of the territory.

In addition, the organization’s militants were engaged in “shaping” the real estate market - confiscated houses were rented out to those who wanted them. However, one of the most stable sources of income has long been payment for electricity generated by generators captured by militants.

The fines represent only a small portion of the group's income but demonstrate its administrative practices. The photo shows a fine for violating traffic rules in Sarmada, Idlib in April 2015. The amount of fines varies from 300 to 5 thousand Syrian pounds.

Illegal connection to electrical networks is also punishable by fines. The illegal line will be removed and the offender will be fined a minimum of £5,000.

Jabhat Al-Nusra, Islamic State are terrorist groups banned on the territory of the Russian Federation.

destroy the equipment of ISIS militants

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MOSCOW, July 29 - RIA Novosti. The renaming of Jabhat al-Nusra (a terrorist group banned in the Russian Federation) will not affect the balance of power in the region, according to experts interviewed by RIA Novosti.

The terrorist group Jabhat al-Nusra previously announced a break with al-Qaeda, whose Syrian branch it had until now acted as, and renaming itself Jabhat Fatah al-Sham.

GROWED AND BECAME INDEPENDENT

Associate Professor at the Institute of Social Sciences of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, orientalist Sergei Demidenko, believes that this group “is beginning to position itself as some kind of independent force, which now does not need patronage, even purely ideological, from Al-Qaeda.”

“They consider themselves quite independent, they consider themselves a completely autonomous force, which will now act without regard to the leadership of al-Qaeda. That is, they have declared themselves as an independent force, at least equal to ISIS (a terrorist group banned in the Russian Federation) ", says the expert.

According to him, “the last prefix in the name - “ash-sham” - means “people of the Levant” and speaks of a certain claim in this case and the localization of their activities, because Al-Qaeda, no matter how you look at it, this organization claimed to a certain all-inclusiveness, it laid claim to a certain globality.”

“In this case, they very clearly outlined their territorial claims, they quite clearly outlined their future strategy,” the expert said. He noted that “in general, this does not change the balance of power in the Syrian arena; this once again confirms the fact of the growing influence of individual groups.”

CHANGE OF BRAND DOES NOT CHANGE THE ESSENCE

Senior researcher at the Center for the Study of the Near and Middle East at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladimir Sazhin, believes that “this is an organization that is banned in almost all countries and which does not cause controversy or discussion among opponents of terrorism, I mean, in the United States, Western Europe , Russia, Iran".

“As for the renaming, it seems to me that this is a change of brand, but the essence does not change. They simply do not want to fall under the general anti-terrorism actions, first of all, of the United States and Russia, since we know that they already have certain agreements regarding joint actions against terrorism in Syria."

“Of course, Moscow and Washington do not have a common view on many groups. But this does not apply to ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra. Jabhat al-Nusra now does not want to fall under the commonality of actions of the United States and Russia, so they want to leave out of this," he says.

Sazhin also noted that the reasons for changing the name of the group may also lie in the plane of internal contradictions in the organization itself. “I think they have some kind of internal contradictions, because Jabhat al-Nusra consists of many groups. We know that there is no unity among them. It is quite possible that the group’s renaming is an internal reaction to the current situation,” said the expert.

Earlier, US State Department spokesman John Kirby said that the United States considers Jabhat al-Nusra a terrorist group, despite the “rebranding.”

As a result of a special operation by the Ministry of Defense in Syria, the command of the terrorist group Jabhat al-Nusra was destroyed. The VKS strike eliminated a dozen field commanders, and the leader Abu Mohammed al-Julani was seriously wounded and lost an arm. Experts predict the defeat of al-Nusra in the near future, and also note the benefit of such a strike “for educational purposes.”

Russia will provide assistance to armed formations (within the framework of the de-escalation zone in) in the fight against the terrorist group Jabhat al-Nusra, banned in Russia. Sergei Lavrov announced this on Wednesday afternoon. “There is information that armed formations... have begun to work more actively against Jabhat al-Nusra,” RIA Novosti quotes Lavrov as saying.

One reason for this increased effort seems obvious. Earlier on Wednesday, it became known that al-Nusra’s command as a result of a special operation by the Russian Ministry of Defense. The leader of the group, Abu Mohammed al-Julani, “received multiple severe shrapnel wounds, lost an arm and, according to several independent sources, is in critical condition,” said Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov.

As a result of the air force strike, “together with a large number of about 50 guards, 12 field commanders of Jabhat al-Nusra were also eliminated.” In particular, al-Julani’s closest assistant, the head of the group’s “security service,” Ahmad al-Gizai, was killed,” Konashenkov added. The multi-level intelligence system made it possible to obtain information about the arrival of terrorists and the beginning of their meeting.

The day before, a strike by the Russian Aerospace Forces destroyed IS* of various levels, “including a native of Kazakhstan, Abu Islam al-Kazaki, who was involved in coordinating the actions of IS assault forces in the Euphrates Valley,” Konashenkov noted. According to him, the destruction of terrorists involved in the attack on the observation post of the Russian military police on the border of the Idlib de-escalation zone will continue.

"Victory Front" and its defeat

Jabhat al-Nusra (literally translated as “Relief Front”) has several “pseudonyms”. One of the recent ones is Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, the Levant Victory Front. But the first known names for this terrorist alliance are “Al-Qaeda in Syria” or “Al-Qaeda in the Levant.” In 2011, with the outbreak of the civil war in Syria, the central command of the international terrorist network al-Qaeda authorized Abu Muhammad al-Julani to create a Syrian “branch” of the organization.

The real name of 36-year-old Abu Muhammad al-Julani (Abu Muhammad of the Golan Heights) is Ahmad Hussein al-Sharaa. He actually comes from a disputed area on the Syria-Israel border. The future leader of al-Nusra comes from an intelligent family, the son of the author of several books on petrochemistry and a geography teacher. The American invasion of neighboring Iraq prompted him to quit his studies at the journalism department of the University of Damascus and go to the “war with the infidels.” Al-Julani fought under the leadership of al-Qaeda-linked terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (the future creator of ISIS*), was captured by the Americans and placed in Camp Bucca. After his release in 2008, he became one of the founders of the Islamic State of Iraq, which in 2013 became the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Since 2012, Jabhat al-Nusra has operated as an independent fighting force. It announced its disengagement from al-Qaeda, and in 2013-2015 it fought with the “competing organization” - IS (in particular, in the province of Deir ez-Zor) with hundreds killed on both sides. In April 2014, ISIS killed one of the leaders of al-Nusra, Abu Mohammed al-Ansari, and his family.

Jabhat al-Nusra is recognized as terrorist by many countries, including, in addition to Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Great Britain, France and the United States, which, however, does not prevent the latter from making contacts with militants.

Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists have repeatedly entered into tactical alliances with “moderate oppositionists” officially supported by the West. Thus, in 2012, during the fighting in Aleppo, one of the groups belonging to the Free Syrian Army officially went over to the side of al-Nusra. And the head of the recently created “roof” of “al-Nusra” was a person from the “moderate Islamist” movement “Ahrar al-Sham”, an almost “respectable” opposition coalition supported by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey.

As of September, Jabhat al-Nusra continued to control certain areas in the provinces of Idlib and Aleppo, as well as several settlements near the city of Homs. At the end of September, the newspaper reported that al-Nusra Islamists launched a large-scale attack on the positions of Syrian government forces north and northeast of the city of Hama. The group used tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. At the same time, a detachment of Russian military police with a total number of 29 people, performing observation functions at one of the checkpoints, was surrounded.

The Ministry of Defense stated that it was Russian military attacks by terrorists.

Most likely, the militants planned to surround or even capture Russian troops in order to later use them as a tool in trade, trying to stop east of Deir ez-Zor. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that the death of the Russian general near Deir ez-Zor was “payment for the duplicity of American policy” in Syria.

But the “decapitation” of the group, according to experts, should be a significant blow in addition to the actions of the Aerospace Forces and the Syrian army to liberate the territories captured by al-Nusra.

"This means a violation of the military command system"

Military expert Viktor Murakhovsky considers the destruction of the leaders an important point. “This is a common name - leaders. You need to understand that they have quite distributed functionality there. There are those who are involved in ideology and information operations, and there are those who directly manage military operations. Figuratively speaking, the structure there is quite militarized - command, headquarters, people responsible for weapons and military equipment, and so on. In this sense, the destruction of such persons who are quite well trained in professional military terms is important,” he told the newspaper VZGLYAD.

“This means a violation of the military command and control system, and this always leads to uncoordination of the actions of various small groups, introduces disorganization and a sharp decrease in efficiency,” Murakhovsky explained. “Of course, there is no need to absolutize, because over time there will be people who will be able to occupy the corresponding positions. However, the effectiveness of actions and groups will still decrease,” he emphasized.

This is also a response to what happened in Idlib, Murakhovsky is sure. “If the enemy managed to form a group there with a total number of several thousand people with dozens of armored vehicles, then it is necessary to deprive him of the opportunity to act in such coordinated powerful groups,” he pointed out. And one of the elements, according to him, should be the destruction of commanders, responsible persons and disruption of the control system.

Murakhovsky recalled that Jabhat al-Nusra relatively recently merged with other groups to form the Tahrir al-Sham association, and it is al-Nusra that occupies a leading position in this grouping.

“In fact, all command and control structures are represented by people from al-Nusra. Therefore, we can say that the process of eliminating the leaders and military formations of this group has entered such a phase that it, like ISIS, will be defeated in the foreseeable future,” the expert emphasized, adding that the main forces of the group are concentrated in the province of Idlib, and it is clear where to destroy it.

At the same time, Murakhovsky noted that now the main emphasis is shifted towards Deir ez-Zor. “This is where the main combat-ready military formations of the Syrian Arab Army and its allies are now located,” the expert said. In this regard, he noted, it is necessary to understand that government troops simply do not yet have enough forces and means to simultaneously solve problems of an operational scale in two directions. “It is clear that the Russian Aerospace Forces provide powerful air support, but the final victory point is set on the ground,” he added.

Lesson for sponsors

A new command will be appointed to Jabhat al-Nusra, predicts President of the Middle East Institute Yevgeny Satanovsky. “But both the sponsors of Jabhat al-Nusra and those who are sponsors of its sponsors - we are talking not only about Saudi Arabia, but also about the United States - must assess the consequences of attacks on Russian military personnel in Syria,” Satanovsky noted in conversation with the newspaper VZGLYAD.

“In the East, if you are hit, you are obliged to respond, it is advisable to repay debts with interest,” the expert emphasized. – The destruction of the leaders of a terrorist organization is a warning that you need to think ten times before attacking someone from Russia. Very useful for educational purposes."

In his opinion, the Saudis, as Eastern people, will understand the warning. “Ultimately, if they screw over their own people, it’s possible that those people will simply stop working for them. The main thing is that everyone in the region understands this, including the Jabhatists.”

* An organization in respect of which the court made a decision that has entered into legal force to liquidate or prohibit its activities on the grounds provided for by the Federal Law “On Combating Extremist Activities”

From the editor. “Russian People's Line” begins a new project with this publication. At the request of the editors, experts prepared analytical reviews from open sources about the largest armed groups participating in the civil war in Syria. Today this is especially relevant due to the fact that the Russian Aerospace Forces have begun to provide assistance to the government army of Bashar al-Assad. All patriotic forces in Russia supported the decision of the country's President Vladimir Putin to provide direct military support to Syria. And we think it is important for society to understand who is fighting in Syria, for what, and with what forces.

Al-Nusra Front(from Arabic جبهة النصرة لأهل الشام‎ - ‎Sham People's Relief Front) is an offshoot of al-Qaeda in Syria and the Levant, formed on January 23, 2012 during (and for) the Syrian Civil War (still active today). Its goal was to overthrow the Assad regime, replacing it with a Sunni Islamic state (as opposed to ISIS). It has a reputation as the most aggressive and fastest-growing part of the Syrian armed opposition. Consists of approximately 6,000 people (there are data about 10,000).

Recognized as a terrorist organization by the UN, USA, UK, Australia, Turkey and Russia. Follows the ideology of Salafism. The leader of the group is Abu Muhammad al-Julani (this is a pseudonym, his real name is unknown).

The first terrorist attack was carried out on January 6, 2012 by a suicide bomber who blew up a bus carrying a detachment of internal troops in the central region of Damascus, who were on their way to suppress an anti-government rally. 26 people died.

The latest known terrorist attack to date (10/24/2015), in which the group’s participation is suspected, is the explosions in Ankara on October 10, 2015 by two suicide bombers at a rally against the surge in violence due to the Turkish-Kurdish war that broke out in southern Turkey. According to the latest data, more than 100 people were killed and more than 200 were injured.

Photo 2: terrorist attack in Ankara

Story. After the group's creation, al-Nusra quickly rose to prominence among the rebel organizations fighting in Syria due to its reliable supply of weapons, recruits and good funding.

Having proven themselves to be well-trained professionals with success on the battlefield, the group's fighters have earned a name for themselves even in the Free Syrian Army (FSA). When the US demanded recognition as a terrorist group in 2012, some within the FSA protested the decision. Although al-Nusra Front does not engage in heinous and fanatical executions (like ISIS), it has generated negative perceptions among Syrians due to the imposition of harsh religious laws in the area of ​​control.

Different factions in Syria do not always agree on their interests and clashes occur, as in February 2014 between the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra, as a result of which 3,000 militants were killed and al-Nusra was pushed back from its key stronghold in Deir ez-Zour, where There were oil fields, which were an important source of income for the group. However, on some fronts there are known cases of cooperation between militants of both organizations.

Photo 4: Deir az-Zor area on the map of Syria

Al-Nusra is active in about 13 provinces of Syria and controls at least a dozen cities, establishing its own Sharia courts there.

Photo 5: zones of influence of various groups on the map of Syria

Fighting methods. The organization fights Assad's government forces and proxies such as Hezbollah. In the early stages of involvement in the conflict, it used mainly suicide bombers and vehicles filled with explosives. There is information about the appearance of air defense systems. Also involved in kidnapping for ransom or political pressure. For example: a threat to kill a Lebanese soldier if Hezbollah does not leave Syria. Once they captured 45 Fijian UN peacekeepers from the UN military observer contingent on the Golan Heights, who were released, according to al-Nusra, free of charge.

The organization's most significant terrorist attacks. January 6, 2012 (described above); October 3, 2012. Three suicide bombers detonated vehicles loaded with explosives in central Aleppo, hoping to inflict damage on government troops. Dozens of dead, including civilians. http://newsru.com/world/03oct2012/aleppo.html; February 10, 2013. Capture of the army camp in Tabaka, which stored large reserves of weapons and artillery. The victims are unknown; the kidnapping of 12 nuns from the Christian city of Maaloula (which damaged their image as a less radical Islamic group compared to IS), but after negotiations with officials in Syria, the Levant and Qatar, the nuns were released unharmed in March 2014; On March 16, 2014, the Bekaa Valley, where Hezbollah had a base, was shelled in retaliation for the lost battle for control of Yabroud (a town on the Lebanese border); On May 25, 2014, American citizen Abu Hurayrah al-Amriki smuggled a truck loaded with explosives into Idlib (no casualties reported); On November 3, 2014, attacked and defeated the Syrian Revolutionary Front and Harakat Hazm in the Jabal al-Zawiya region of Idlib. 2 groups of “moderate rebels” surrendered 2 cities to al-Nusra. Some members belonging to the Free Syrian Army were arrested, others defected to al-Nusra. Losses are unknown.

Photo 7: al-Nusra fighters in the city of Beit Sakhm (a suburb of Damascus)

Relations with other factions. Like most military organizations in the Syrian conflict, al-Nusra Front's relationship with other factions is complex. It is not part of the Islamic Front - the so-called "moderate Islamist rebels" - and has not even been invited to join. However, she often collaborates with members of the Islamic Front in Syria.

Relations with the FSA are complicated by the US decision to designate al-Nusra as a terrorist organization in December 2012. Although the groups are linked by the goal of overthrowing Assad, they pursue different goals and ideologies. For example, at the end of 2013, al-Nusra and the FSA captured several border towns, and in 2014, cooperation led to victory over the Syrian army in Idlib.

In other cases, factions clash with each other on the battlefield. After US airstrikes hit the Khorasan Group in al-Nusra bases in Idlib, al-Nusra attacked and defeated the Syrian Revolutionary Front (SRF) and Harakat Hazm in the Jabal al-Zawiya area of ​​Idlib. Two groups of “moderate rebels” associated with the FSA surrendered local towns to al-Nusra. The SRF held these territories for 3 years.

Photo 8: fighters of the group on the territory of the training camp

Because of Hezbollah's support for the Syrian government, al-Nusra often clashes with it on the battlefield. Al-Nusra also confirmed a series of suicide attacks on Shiite targets in Lebanon and declared in January 2014 that all Hezbollah strongholds were legitimate targets for attack. In the summer of 2014, after ISIS's beheading of an American journalist generated global media attention, al-Nusra and ISIS released video of Lebanese hostages being held near Arsal, near the Syrian-Lebanese border. The hostages were Lebanese soldiers, they asked for Hezbollah to leave Syria on video.

Al-Nusra and its "possessions". Like ISIS, al-Nusra controls most of the territories it holds. It establishes Sharia courts, although it does not carry out executions typical of ISIS. The social protection it provides from electricity to food supplies has earned it respect from the local population. When there was a threat of famine in Aleppo, she contributed to the opening of bakeries and controlled the supply of flour. Their reputation is also enhanced by their videos, aimed mainly at Muslim audiences, produced by al-Nusra media groups (for example, White Minaret). Despite some continued local infighting, some sections of the local population are active supporters of al-Nusra, and many residents protested when the US designated it a terrorist organization.

Al-Nusra's main goals.

Part 1 of the interview:

Al-Nusra leader: “We have no goal of confronting the West, except when it provokes us; our goal is to overthrow the Syrian regime!

We are here to complete one mission, to overthrow the Assad regime and its minions, including Hezbollah and others.

Al-Nusra does not have any plans to attack the West. We received clear orders not to use Syria as a platform to attack Europe or the United States, so as not to interfere with the main goal, which I mentioned earlier. Al-Qaeda may have it, but not here in Syria.”

But al-Julani's statements did not include a US warning to al-Nusra for attacks on the group, which has been labeled a "terrorist organization" in the States.

“Our options are flexible: if the United States continues to attack us in Syria, we will be forced to respond. Everyone has the right to defend themselves!”

He condemned the West not only for supporting President Assad's government against the rebels, but also for fabricating the "Khorasan Group", which the US considers a front faction in Syria, to attack the US.

“The West is targeting Nusra because it knows that we are a real threat to the Assad regime. That's why they came out and said that they were only targeting a group that they called the Khorasan group.

“There is no Khorasan group. Americans are deceiving the public. They claim that this secret group was supposed to destroy Americans, but this is not true.”

Julani said ISIS, accused of rampant brutality and controlling vast swaths of the country, was al-Nusra's main target.

“We are fighting on three fronts: Assad, Hezbollah and ISIS.”

When asked whether an Islamic state (not ISIS) would be established in Syria, Julani replied that when the war was over, all factions would first consult each other before "establishing an Islamic state."

Julani also said his group would not attack the Alawite minority, despite their support for Assad's government.

“The confrontation will not end in Qardah, the Assad clan’s ancestral home.”

“Our war does not seek retribution against the Alawites, despite the fact that they are considered heretics in Islam.”

Part 2 of the interview:

Julani opined that there will be no end to the civil war as long as ISIS exists.

“There is no agreement between us now, and there is no agreement in the foreseeable future.”

“We hope they will repent to God and come back to their senses. If not, there will be nothing but hostility between us.”

“They say Iran controls Iraq, but the truth is that the US, which occupied Iraq, handed it over to Iran on a platter of gold.”

The Nusra Front, loyal to the successors of Osama bin Laden, and ISIS are the most powerful groups fighting government forces in Syria. The groups have also clashed with each other since splitting in 2013, largely due to power struggles between the leaders.

Julani said that in his Sunni armed group, about 30% of the fighters are foreigners, including a small number of Americans. The foreign contingent also included Europeans, Asians, Americans, Russians, Chechens, etc.

This was the second part of the interview and included footage of Nusra's training camp, weapons, a lesson inside a classroom, along with photographs of a prison and food packaging inside Nusra-controlled territory.

The group has had success in Northern Syria along with other armed groups in recent days, expanding into Idlib, Jisr al-Shughour and moving its armed groups closer to government-controlled coastal areas north of the capital (Damascus).

The interview, aired on the Pan-Arab Channel, was an attempt to introduce itself to Arab audiences as the Syrian National Movement.

This has sparked a debate among Western diplomats monitoring the Syrian conflict who still view al-Nusra as a dangerous, violent group that is not very different from ISIS.

In the first part of the interview, Julani made it clear that he received his orders directly from Zawahiri, who ordered al-Nusra to focus on Syria. This week he sidestepped a question about whether Nusra would consider secession from al-Qaeda.

Julani on Iran:

Nusra follows al-Qaeda's hardline interpretation of Islam and views the Shiite regime in Iran as its main enemy. Julani said Iran, which protects Assad, used only militants to counter armed groups.

He also said that Tehran also sent military specialists and that Nusra was prepared to fight them.

“We will cut off the hands of the Iranians in our region, and as for Iran itself, it will collapse from within,” hinting at a possible uprising of Kurdish and Sunni minorities.

Julani also noted that the US has created a "state of instability" throughout the Middle East.

Another statement by al-Julani dated 05/28/2015:

http://ruposters.ru/news/15-09-2015/same-as-isis