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| Rebel Infighting Spreads to Eastern Syrian City | Rebel Infighting Spreads to Eastern Syrian City |
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| BEIRUT, Lebanon — An internal war between Syrian insurgents and their onetime allies, members of a transnational jihadist group that even some fighters affiliated with Al Qaeda reject as too extreme, widened on Monday from parts of northern Syria into Raqqa, the largest city in eastern Syria that had been under the group’s control, antigovernment activists and fighters said. | BEIRUT, Lebanon — An internal war between Syrian insurgents and their onetime allies, members of a transnational jihadist group that even some fighters affiliated with Al Qaeda reject as too extreme, widened on Monday from parts of northern Syria into Raqqa, the largest city in eastern Syria that had been under the group’s control, antigovernment activists and fighters said. |
| Some activists said the group, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, had been largely evicted from Raqqa, which it had ruled for months. The group was known to have closed churches, arrested hundreds of Syrians who disagreed with its goals and even executed some perceived offenders of strictly interpreted Shariah law, the code of Islamic behavior it had sought to impose. | Some activists said the group, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, had been largely evicted from Raqqa, which it had ruled for months. The group was known to have closed churches, arrested hundreds of Syrians who disagreed with its goals and even executed some perceived offenders of strictly interpreted Shariah law, the code of Islamic behavior it had sought to impose. |
| If confirmed, its expulsion from Raqqa would be a setback for the group, known by the initials ISIS, in its effort to assert supremacy over the nearly three-year-old insurgency in Syria, which has devolved into a splintering of militias with no universally recognized authority. | If confirmed, its expulsion from Raqqa would be a setback for the group, known by the initials ISIS, in its effort to assert supremacy over the nearly three-year-old insurgency in Syria, which has devolved into a splintering of militias with no universally recognized authority. |
| “The initiation of heavy fighting in Raqqa was perhaps the most important signifier of importance,” said Charles Lister, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Center in Qatar. He said that given the size and location of Raqqa, coupled with its importance as a jihadist stronghold, “should ISIS be forced out there, it will have been dealt an extremely symbolic blow.” | “The initiation of heavy fighting in Raqqa was perhaps the most important signifier of importance,” said Charles Lister, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Center in Qatar. He said that given the size and location of Raqqa, coupled with its importance as a jihadist stronghold, “should ISIS be forced out there, it will have been dealt an extremely symbolic blow.” |
| The development comes as ISIS is facing increasingly angry backlashes in other parts of Syria as well as an intensifying effort by the authorities in neighboring Iraq to crush its resurgence there. | The development comes as ISIS is facing increasingly angry backlashes in other parts of Syria as well as an intensifying effort by the authorities in neighboring Iraq to crush its resurgence there. |
| ISIS is affiliated with Al Qaeda’s branch in Iraq, but split from the Nusra Front, another Qaeda-linked insurgent group in Syria, and the Nusra Front has now joined the fight against ISIS in many areas. | |
| Rebels from a Syrian Islamist group known as Ahrar al-Sham and from others battling ISIS in Raqqa posted what they said was video of the freeing of 50 inmates from a makeshift ISIS prison. But hundreds more were said to still be held by ISIS, including members of rival rebel groups, civilians and antigovernment activists. | Rebels from a Syrian Islamist group known as Ahrar al-Sham and from others battling ISIS in Raqqa posted what they said was video of the freeing of 50 inmates from a makeshift ISIS prison. But hundreds more were said to still be held by ISIS, including members of rival rebel groups, civilians and antigovernment activists. |
| Abu Maya, an activist in Raqqa who is close to Ahrar al-Sham and the Nusra Front, said in a Skype interview that the 50 detainees had been held in the Vehicles Department building in Raqqa and that all were fighters and activists. | Abu Maya, an activist in Raqqa who is close to Ahrar al-Sham and the Nusra Front, said in a Skype interview that the 50 detainees had been held in the Vehicles Department building in Raqqa and that all were fighters and activists. |
| Abu Maya also said that two churches held by ISIS were “liberated” by Nusra Front fighters on Monday, adding, “God willing, the churches will be restored and used again by Christians in Raqqa.” | Abu Maya also said that two churches held by ISIS were “liberated” by Nusra Front fighters on Monday, adding, “God willing, the churches will be restored and used again by Christians in Raqqa.” |
| He said that a leader of Nusra in Raqqa had been imprisoned by ISIS for four months. “They call for Shariah law, but their own interpretation,” he said. “Both Ahrar and the Nusra Front have decided to continue the fight against ISIS until it leaves the country and goes back to Iraq.” | He said that a leader of Nusra in Raqqa had been imprisoned by ISIS for four months. “They call for Shariah law, but their own interpretation,” he said. “Both Ahrar and the Nusra Front have decided to continue the fight against ISIS until it leaves the country and goes back to Iraq.” |
| A fighter in Ahrar al-Sham, who identified himself as Abu Ahmed Dughaim, said in a Skype interview that some ISIS fighters had been misled by their own commanders and would be welcomed to join other Syrian groups that reject what they described as ISIS’s arrogant and intolerant power grab. | A fighter in Ahrar al-Sham, who identified himself as Abu Ahmed Dughaim, said in a Skype interview that some ISIS fighters had been misled by their own commanders and would be welcomed to join other Syrian groups that reject what they described as ISIS’s arrogant and intolerant power grab. |
| The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an antigovernment group based in Britain with a network of contacts inside Syria, said that at least 100 fighters had been killed in clashes in the past four days. The casualty figure was impossible to confirm, but Mr. Dughaim said that “many fighters were killed from both sides, and civilians also.” | The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an antigovernment group based in Britain with a network of contacts inside Syria, said that at least 100 fighters had been killed in clashes in the past four days. The casualty figure was impossible to confirm, but Mr. Dughaim said that “many fighters were killed from both sides, and civilians also.” |
| The fighting has mainly pitted groups from the Islamic Front, a relatively new coalition of insurgent groups, against ISIS, though other groups affiliated with the Western-backed Supreme Military Council also took part, said Murad Shawkha, an activist based in the northern city of Aleppo. | The fighting has mainly pitted groups from the Islamic Front, a relatively new coalition of insurgent groups, against ISIS, though other groups affiliated with the Western-backed Supreme Military Council also took part, said Murad Shawkha, an activist based in the northern city of Aleppo. |
| Abu Bakr, an activist in Raqqa from the Shaam News Network, an antigovernment organization, said via Skype that another homegrown Syrian Islamist rebel organization, the Tawheed Brigade, had helped drive ISIS from many neighborhoods, and that Ahrar al-Sham fighters were “driving around the city to arrest any ISIS fighter they find,” with 50 detained in the past two days. | Abu Bakr, an activist in Raqqa from the Shaam News Network, an antigovernment organization, said via Skype that another homegrown Syrian Islamist rebel organization, the Tawheed Brigade, had helped drive ISIS from many neighborhoods, and that Ahrar al-Sham fighters were “driving around the city to arrest any ISIS fighter they find,” with 50 detained in the past two days. |
| ISIS fighters, many of them Sunni Islamic jihadists drawn from elsewhere in the Middle East and Europe, were initially welcomed by the Syrian insurgency last year as an additional military resource to help advance the common goal of deposing President Bashar al-Assad of Syria. The fight also acquired a sectarian tone, with insurgents increasingly rallying their fighters against Mr. Assad’s dominant minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam. | ISIS fighters, many of them Sunni Islamic jihadists drawn from elsewhere in the Middle East and Europe, were initially welcomed by the Syrian insurgency last year as an additional military resource to help advance the common goal of deposing President Bashar al-Assad of Syria. The fight also acquired a sectarian tone, with insurgents increasingly rallying their fighters against Mr. Assad’s dominant minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam. |
| But ISIS’s abuses of fellow insurgents and civilian opponents of the government have led to increasingly frequent and violent confrontations. | But ISIS’s abuses of fellow insurgents and civilian opponents of the government have led to increasingly frequent and violent confrontations. |
| Full-scale fighting was reported to have broken out last Friday in the Aleppo area and other parts of northern Syria, pitting ISIS loyalists against an array of Syrian rebel groups that basically declared ISIS an enemy that must leave the country. | Full-scale fighting was reported to have broken out last Friday in the Aleppo area and other parts of northern Syria, pitting ISIS loyalists against an array of Syrian rebel groups that basically declared ISIS an enemy that must leave the country. |
| The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and numerous activists and fighters interviewed in Raqqa and Aleppo Provinces said that fighting continued on Monday. Mr. Shawkha reported that ISIS was under attack in many of its strongholds throughout Aleppo Province. | The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and numerous activists and fighters interviewed in Raqqa and Aleppo Provinces said that fighting continued on Monday. Mr. Shawkha reported that ISIS was under attack in many of its strongholds throughout Aleppo Province. |
| “ISIS is getting routed all over the place,” said Joshua M. Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma and curator of Syria Comment a widely followed blog. The ISIS alienation of Syria’s homegrown rebels, Mr. Landis said, “was their big mistake — now they’ve got all these other groups aligned against them.” | “ISIS is getting routed all over the place,” said Joshua M. Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma and curator of Syria Comment a widely followed blog. The ISIS alienation of Syria’s homegrown rebels, Mr. Landis said, “was their big mistake — now they’ve got all these other groups aligned against them.” |
| What remains unclear, he said, is whether the rebel infighting “is part of a Darwinian shakedown, with more unity, or just a sign of complete chaos and dysfunctionality.” | What remains unclear, he said, is whether the rebel infighting “is part of a Darwinian shakedown, with more unity, or just a sign of complete chaos and dysfunctionality.” |
Anne Barnard reported from Beirut, and Rick Gladstone from New York. Reporting was contributed by Hwaida Saad and Mohammad Ghannam from Beirut, Karam Shoumali from Istanbul, and Eric Schmitt from Washington. | Anne Barnard reported from Beirut, and Rick Gladstone from New York. Reporting was contributed by Hwaida Saad and Mohammad Ghannam from Beirut, Karam Shoumali from Istanbul, and Eric Schmitt from Washington. |