International efforts against Al-Qaeda key to Syria political solution
A UN counterterrorism committee can do even more to coordinate a more effective response to al-Qaeda in Syria and eventually a political resolution of the conflict.
The Syrian rebel group Jabhat al-Nusra recently announced it would follow orders from al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri and discontinue attacks against rival group, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). In its May 4 announcement, Jabhat al-Nusra stated, "We announce our acceptance of the orders of Sheikh Ayman al-Zawahri to stop any attacks against ISIS while ensuring they do not attack Muslims."
This statement followed a truce between the two sides, both affiliated with al-Qaeda, after days of fighting in the eastern Syrian province of Deir ez-Zour that borders Iraq, which resulted in the deaths of 60 rebels and the displacement of thousands of civilians according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring organization.
