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Gaza Salafists pledge allegiance to ISIS

Al-Qaeda's decision to cut ties with the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) continues to polarize the global jihadist network, with Gaza's Salafists siding with the latter.

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A screen grab from a video that spread on social networking sites and local news agencies shows purported Salafist jihadists affiliated with al-Qaeda meeting in the Gaza Strip to offer support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), Feb. 11, 2014 — YouTube

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — It seems Ayman al-Zawahri’s statement on Jan. 22 disavowing Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) had very little impact on the Salafist jihadist organizations operating in the Gaza Strip. The most prominent among those organizations, the Mujahedeen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem, quickly issued a statement on Feb. 2, asserting that they were “committed to helping ISIS and bolstering its ranks.” The statement added that the infighting taking place in Syria was due to “an unfair view toward ISIS and its emir, the Prince of Believers Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.”

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