AMMAN, Nov 22: An al Qaeda affiliate has captured a northern Syrian town on the border with Turkey after ousting a moderate Islamist rebel unit and detained its leader, activists said.
The fall of the town of Atma, a crossing point for weapons and for Syrian rebels, signals disarray among some of the rebel groups, which are ceding ground to hardline Islamist units.
Some of these groups are now playing a lesser role on the battlefield in the war against President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, opposition sources said.
The rise of al Qaeda in Syria has helped change the international diplomatic calculus and tempered Western calls for Assad’s removal from power.
Europe and the United States have baulked at military intervention in the conflict and are negotiating with Russia, Assad’s main international backer, to hold peace talks.
Activists said fighters of the al Qaeda affiliate – Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL – had stormed the headquarters of Suqur al-Islam, a moderate Islamist unit that controlled Atma, and set up roadblocks within the last 48 hours.
They detained Mustafa Waddah, the head of Suqur al-Islam, along with two dozen of his men.
A brief firefight took place at the headquarters and also near a Turkish security post in the town of Bukulmez, which overlooks Atma and its hilly terrain, the sources said.
With its proximity to Turkey, Atma has been largely spared shelling and air raids by Assad’s forces. But thousands of people who fled bombings elsewhere in the country had taken refuge in the town and surrounding area.
“The ISIL deployed anti-aircraft guns at the main roundabout and took Atma quietly,” said one of the activists, who did not want to be named. (agencies)
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