Truly an alien vs.predator situation.
IS jihadists seize more territory in Syria from rivals
BARBARA SURK | AP
Published — Tuesday 15 July 2014
BEIRUT: Islamic State jihadists in Syria took over opposition-held areas of a provincial capital near the border with Iraq on Monday after expelling rival fighters from an Al-Qaeda-linked group, activists said.
The march by IS militants on the city of Deir el-Zour brings them closer to a showdown with President Bashar Assad’s forces. They recently captured cities and towns in northern Iraq and merged them with much of the territory under its control in eastern Syria.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human rights said militants from IS took over the area from fighters of the rival Nusra Front group, who withdrew after clashes.
The new developments effectively expand and consolidate areas held by fighters from the Islamic State group in territory straddling the border between the two conflict-ridden countries of Syria and Iraq.