FileFront Forums - Al Qaeda cuts ties with affiliate in Syria

More specifically, it has disassociated itself with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) which has emerged as notable armed force in Syria over the past two years. It justifies this by its disapproval of ISIS's infighting with members of the Islamic Front, which were more religious-oriented groups who broke off from the FSA, though it is also likely that ISIS has become more autonomous than they wished. As such it did not extend this disassociation to the other major al-Qaeda branch, the al-Nusra Front.

Al-Qaeda disavows Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant | Al Jazeera America

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Al-Qaeda has publicly disavowed the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), whose members have been locked in deadly clashes with other Syrian rebel groups, according to an online statement apparently from Al-Qaeda's leadership.

The move is seen as an attempt by Al-Qaeda to reassert its authority over fragmented fighters involved in Syria's three-year-old war, which remains largely deadlocked, with the country split into areas controlled by the government of President Bashar al-Assad and the opposition.

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After a month of rebel infighting, Al-Qaeda's decision to disassociate itself with the increasingly independent ISIL will likely bolster the Nusra Front, say Syria experts.

"ISIL has become completely isolated in Syria," Joshua Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma and a Syria expert, told Al Jazeera. "All the other militias will be attacking ISIS."
"Nusra (the Nusra Front) will be the big gainer, as it is recruiting ISIL defectors," Landis said.

He added that the Islamic Front, an alliance of six major Islamist rebel factions in Syria, has been warning Nusra against mass recruitment of ISIL defectors for "fear that Nusra will begin attacking others."

Ultimately, Landis said, "the Islamist militias are in disarray and the infighting is demoralizing fighters and funders alike."