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Jaysh Al-Islam spokesman unexpectedly steps down
[ALMASDARNEWS] The official spokesperson for the Islamist rebel group "Jaish al-Islam ...Liwa al-Islam (Brigade of Islam) was established by Zahran Alloush, the son of Saudi-based religious scholar Abdullah Mohammed Alloush, after Syrian authorities released him from prison in mid-2011 where he had been serving time for his Salafist activism. The group claimed responsibility for carrying out the July 2012 Damascus bombing that killed Defense Minister Dawoud Rajiha, Deputy Defense Minister Asef Shawkat, and Assistant Vice President Hassan Turkmani. It was a driving force behind actions in the Damascus region. It cooperated and conducted joint operations with al-Nusra. In Sptember 2013 Saudi Arabia engineered Liwa al-Islam's merger with fifty other more or less Salafist groups as a counterweight to al-Nusra, which the Learned Elders of Islam considered was growing too powereful..." (Army of Islam) announced on Monday that he is resigning from his position. The official spokesperson, Islam Alloush, shared his statement through Jaish Al-Islam’s official social media wing; however, he did not cite any reason for his abrupt departure from this large Islamist group. Recently, the Syrian government and village elders met in Douma to discuss a possible ceasefire/reconciliation agreement that would put an end the hostilities between the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and Jaish Al-Islam in the East Ghouta. Alloush was believed to have opposed this kind of agreement with the Syrian government, despite several pleas by the village elders in the East Ghouta to end the conflict. Jaish Al-Islam has not named an immediate replacement for Islam Alloush. Posted by: Fred 2016-08-30 |
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