Al-Qaeda declares war on ISIS in rural Damascus, infighting in FSA at Dumayr

Earlier today in the Qalamoun Mountains that are situated between the Syrian and Lebanese borders, the Syrian Al-Qaeda group “Jabhat Al-Nusra” has declared war on the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) after a heated dispute over the latter’s prisoner exchange with the Lebanese Army.

Prior to this turmoil along the border of Lebanon and Syria, Jabhat Al-Nusra and ISIS experienced civil relations in the Qalamoun Mountains, despite their turbulent history in northern Syria that included a war in northern Aleppo and Raqqa City.

The two terrorist groups share territory in the northern Qalamoun mountainside; specifically, in Jaroud Qarah, where both groups are currently combatting the Lebanese resistance organization “Hezbollah” for control of this strategic border-crossing into Lebanon’s Ba’albak Municipality of the Beqa’a Governorate.

East of Jaroud Qarah, the Free Syrian Army’s (FSA) rival factions are at war with one another in the city of Dumayr after a territorial dispute between militia leaders; this battle has been ongoing for 4 days and has yet to dissipate, despite several attempts to halt the violence.

With the Islamists at war in the Qalamoun Mountains, the Syrian Arab Army and Hezbollah have decided to watch from afar as the winner of this infighting will likely face-off against the pro-government forces in the coming months.