Beirut // Al Qaeda severed ties with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) on Monday, disavowing its connection to the most extreme rebel faction fighting in the Syria war.
In a public statement, Ayman Al Zawahiri, who took over as Al Qaeda’s leader following the death of Osama bin Laden, said his group had “no links” to Isil.
“We were not informed about its creation, nor counselled. Nor were we satisfied with it, rather we ordered it to stop. Isil is not a branch of Qaedat Al Jihad [Al Qaeda] and we have no organisational relationship with it,” he said.
The announcement confirmed a split that has been dividing hardline Islamist groups on the ground for some months, often violently.
In September, Jabhat Al Nusra, the official Al Qaeda affiliate in Syria, clashed with Isil in Syria’s northern Hasakeh province, although the exact details of what happened remain unclear as the groups are secretive.
But the disagreement between the two groups – both once considered Al Qaeda affiliates – broke into the open in April last year, when Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, the head of Isil, tried to force a merger with Al Nusra and gain control over Al Qaeda’s Syria operations.
That move was rejected by Mohammad Al Jolani, Al Nusra's leader, who won the backing of Al Zawahiri in the dispute. It was a rare public spat in the ranks of Al Qaeda.
In the following months, tensions within rebel ranks continued to rise, with the moderate nationalists of the Free Syrian Army getting into violent confrontations with Isil.
Then, a month after its formation in November, the Islamic Front, an alliance of hardline Islamist rebel groups with much in common ideologically with Al Qaeda, also turned its guns on Isil.
While Isil has its roots in Iraq with foreign fighters who opposed US forces there, Al Nusra has a greater claim to being a Syrian home-grown movement, drawing most its members and supporters from inside the country.
Al Nusra has also proven more popular among civilians in areas under rebel control, seeking to win hearts and minds by distributing food and fuel, and taking a more pragmatic approach towards enforcing its brand of Islamic justice than Isil.
Although classified a “terrorist” organisation by the United States and Europe, Al Nusra is fairly well regarded across rebel ranks. While nationalist rebel commanders say they believe it does pose a long-term threat to aspirations for a democratic Syria, Al Nusra members have also shown themselves willing to debate points of law and administration, rather than rely on the rule of the gun, the method favoured by Isil.
International concern about Isil has been growing and on January 28 the Turkish air force carried out strikes against an Isil convoy inside Syria.
In the course of Syria’s uprising-turned-civil war, Isil has emerged as one of the most powerful rebel factions on the ground, seizing control of oilfields and consolidating its hold on territory, including Raqqa, the only provincial capital in rebel hands.
That Isil has openly turned Raqqa municipal offices into a headquarters, without coming under attack from forces loyal to President Bashar Al Assad, has fuelled suggestions that regime forces are in league with Isil in an attempt to subvert what began in March 2011 as a peaceful rebellion.
Fighting between the Islamic Front and Isil intensified in January, with the violence resulting in 1,400 dead in 20 days across Raqqa, Idleb and Aleppo provinces.
While the Islamic Front made early rapid advances against Isil, it pushed back and retook much of the territory it lost, highlighting its military effectiveness.
While the opposition fought amongst itself, regime forces were able to make headway in Aleppo.
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- Join parent networks
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
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Price: From Dh439,000
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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Warby Parker @warbyparker
Zara @zara
Karwaan
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Director: Akarsh Khurana
Starring: Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan, Mithila Palkar
Rating: 4/5
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse Of Madness'
Director: Sam Raimi
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg and Rachel McAdams
Rating: 3/5
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
Saturday 15 January: v Canada
Thursday 20 January: v England
Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly, Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya Shetty, Kai Smith
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
