Could ISIS now be twice as powerful? Membership of extreme group may double in size as it merges with al Qaeda's 15,000-strong Syrian offshoot on border with Iraq
- Al-Nusra Front is said to have pledged allegiance to ISIS on Iraq border
- Merger could see up to 15,000 additional Islamist militants join ISIS ranks
- Leaders of al-Nusra have previously taken oath of allegiance to al-Qaeda
- Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri said group represented him in Syria
- Alliance with ISIS casts doubt on the original agreement with al-Qaeda
- Al-Zawahiri has previously disowned ISIS, calling brutal tactics too extreme
The number of Islamist extremists fighting for ISIS could double after al-Qaeda's 15,000 strong offshoot in Syria is said to have pledged allegiance to the militant group.
The merger is believed to have taken place in Albu Kamel - on the border of Syria and Iraq, where all of the crossings are currently in the hands of Sunni militia, many of them members of ISIS.
In April the al-Nusra Front pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who has previously condemned ISIS' brutal attempts to establish an Islamic state in the Middle East as too extreme, so the development points to a new split within al-Qaeda's ranks.
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Merger: Images shared online appeared to show al-Nusra's alleged leader in the Albu Kamel region, Abu Yusuf al-Masri, shaking hands with ISIS fighters after apparently taking an oath of allegiance to the group
Sealed with an embrace: The 15,000 fighters al-Nusra is believed to have under its control could now switch to ISIS. This would double the number of militants ISIS previously claimed to have under its command
Blast: A suicide bombing today at a checkpoint manned by Kurdish security forces in Kirkuk killed two members of the Kurdish security forces as well as killing and wounding dozens of others
News of the merger between ISIS and the al-Nusra front were made by both the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and an Islamist website this afternoon.
Images widely shared by ISIS supporters online appeared to show al-Nusra's alleged leader in the Albu Kamel region, Abu Yusuf al-Masri, embracing ISIS fighters after apparently taking an oath of allegiance.
Ayman al-Zawahiri, the overall leader of al-Qaeda, has previously disowned ISIS and proclaimed the al-Nusra Front as its official Syrian affiliate.
ISIS which seized Iraq's main northern city Mosul on June 10, has since marched virtually unopposed towards Baghdad and is in control of major border posts on the frontier with Syria.
Only today violence continued, as a suicide bombing at a checkpoint in Kirkuk killed two members of the Kurdish security forces as well as killing and wounded dozens of others.
The group also controls large parts of eastern Syria, where it has both clashed with rival rebels groups - including al-Nusra - and has occasionally fought alongside them.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2669218/ISIS-doubles-size-one-fell-swoop-merges-al-Qaedas-15-000-strong-Syrian-offshoot-border-Iraq.html#ixzz35lBIOtjG
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