[AnNahar] For the first time since its meteoric rise in 2012 amid the chaos of war, al-Qaeda's branch in Syria is in retreat, battling rival turban groups in the north and fighting for survival in a key foothold near the capital, Damascus.Over the past three weeks, the Death Eater group has been driven from nearly all of the northern province of Aleppo, losing dozens of fighters in battles there and in nearby Idlib province.
The fighting poses a major challenge to the turban group, already beset by infighting and a string of liquidations that have taken out some of its top leaders. Unlike previous battles in which al-Qaeda-linked fighters were able to quickly crush their opponents, the fighting has been particularly fierce, with the gunnies losing dozens of villages.