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Executive Summary for February 24th

To give you an overview of the latest news, we’ve organized the latest Syrian developments in a curated summary.

Published on Feb. 24, 2014 Read time Approx. 3 minutes

Al-Qaida Emissary in Syria Killed by Rival Islamist Rebels

Maria Abi-Habib of the Wall Street Journal reports that Abu Khalid al Suri, al-Qaida’s top Syria emissary, was killed on Sunday in Aleppo by rival Islamist rebels in a suicide bombing. She says the assassination will deepen “a violent power struggle between extremist groups that has undermined the battle to unseat President Bashar al-Assad.” Al-Suri was also a founder of Ahrar al-Sham, an increasingly powerful Islamist rebel group.

Al-Suri had been asked by al-Qaida leader Ayman al Zawahiri to help mediate between Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the two main al-Qaida offshoots in Syria.

“Ahrar al-Sham blamed ISIS for the double suicide bombing that killed Mr. Suri, but ISIS denied the accusation. ISIS killed another Ahrar al-Sham leader in January but initially denied involvement, claiming responsibility weeks later,” she writes.

“The splintering of extremist rebels in Syria reflects a broader split developing within al-Qaida’s global terror organization, according to members. Hard-liners complain al-Qaida has been softening since Mr. Zawahiri took control after Osama bin Laden’s death in 2011.

“Younger followers balk at the group’s stance in Syria, where it has vowed to protect religious minorities and has given up on a long-stated goal of building an Islamic caliphate — a super state stretching across Muslim nations. Instead it has embraced the goal of a single state under Islamic law.”

Supreme Military Council is in Chaos, Undermining Fight Against Assad 

Ben Hubbard and Karam Shoumali of the New York Times report on the chaos engulfing the Syrian opposition’s Supreme Military Council, which last week replaced Gen. Selim Idris with Brig. Gen. Abdul al-Bashir.

Fourteen months after its creation, they write, the SMC “is in disarray. Islamist groups have seized its weapons storerooms, its members have stolen or sold its supplies, and one prominent commander it armed and equipped has publicly joined an offshoot of al-Qaida.”

The disorganization “reflects the wider mistrust and internal rivalries between Syria’s rebels and their powerful foreign backers that have consistently undermined their ability to form a united front against Mr. Assad.” And it is exemplified in the piece, by al-Bashir’s reaction to his nomination, about which he had been left in the dark.

“My friend called and told me, ‘Congratulations,’” he tells the paper. “I asked him, ‘Good news?’ He said to turn on the television. I swear to God, no one was in touch with me. I knew nothing about it.”

Nearly 30 Killed as Kurds Take a Syrian Town

Reuters reports that Kurdish fighters retook the Hassakeh town of Tell Brak from extremists this weekend. If they can hold onto it, it could be a “significant advance” in their quest for wider control in the Kurdish-majority northeast.

“The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Kurdish groups known as People’s Protection Units had taken the town. Syrian Kurds have expanded their sway in the northeast, where they are setting up their own administration, since the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad began three years ago,” the wire reports.

“The People’s Protection Units said in a statement that they had taken Tell Brak after a midnight assault on fighters belonging to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and other militants. The Kurdish fighters are holding the bodies of 16 ‘armed mercenaries’ and have taken 42 prisoners, the statement said. It said three Kurdish fighters had also been killed.

“The Syrian Observatory said at least 25 Islamists had been killed.”

Suggested Reads from Our Editorial Team:

 Al Monitor: Military Escalation Will ad to Syrian Catastrophe

The National: Doubts Arise Over Implementation of UN Resolution on Syria Aid

Independent: ‘No One Cares’: The Tragic Truth of Syria’s 500,000 Refugee Children

AFPJordan Foils Bid to Smuggle Ammunition from Syria

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