Islamist factions in Syria merge against Assad regime

Beirut: Two major Islamist factions have joined forces in the struggle against the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria, the primary Islamist armed alliance in the country posted on Twitter, according to media reports.

The two major factions -- the Ahrar al-Sham Movement and the Suqour al-Sham Brigade -- have joined hands against the Syrian regime, the Islamic Front announced. It also telecast a video explaining the merger.

In the video, the spokesman for the unified group clarified that the two factions aimed at merging their ranks and rhetoric to provide stability to the revolution, apart from working together to overthrow the Bashar al-Assad regime.

The unified group will be under the new banner, Ahrar al-Sham Islamic Movement, while its armed wing will be called Suqour al-Sham.

Ahrar al-Sham is one of the primary Salafi rebel organisations in Syria, whose senior leader Hassan Abboud, was killed along with 27 members and leaders of the organisation in September in an attack near Ram Hamdan, in the northern Syrian province of Idlib.

Suqour al-Sham is a smaller group, operating mainly in Idlib, and had been overshadowed by other groups like the al-Nusra Front, the local branch of the Al-Qaeda.