DUBAI: Al Qaeda chief Ayman Al Zawahiri has ordered the disbanding of the main jihadist faction in Syria, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, in an audio message aired on Al Jazeera yesterday.
The tape confirmed a letter put out by Al Jazeera in June, claimed to have been written by Zawahiri and addressed to the leaders of Al Qaeda factions in both countries.
The head of Al Qaeda also stressed that the Al Nusra Front was the branch of the global jihadist group in Syria.
“The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is to be abolished, while the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) remains functioning,” he said. Zawahiri said the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, “has made a mistake by establishing the Islamic state of Iraq and the Levant without asking for our permission, or even informing us.” It was not immediately clear when he made the remarks.
Meanwhile, Zawahiri added that the leader of the Al Nusra Front in Syria, Abu Mohammad Al Jawlani, “has made a mistake by announcing his rejection of the ISIL, without taking our permission, or even informing us.”
