On 28 July, the Nusra Front [Jabhat al-Nusra] militant group organisation in Syria renamed itself, and broke its ties with al-Qaeda. However, the Russian government says it will continue to fight them.
“There is no need to prove that all attempts of terrorists to change their image are futile,” the Russian government said in a statement.
“No matter what Jabhat al-Nusra calls itself, it was and remains an illegal terrorist organisation that has no other aim but to create a so-called Islamic caliphate by cruel and barbarous methods,” the Russian government added.
“A consistent struggle against these thugs will continue with the support of the world community until their complete destruction,” the statement concluded.
In an earlier exclusive interview with ARA News, Nusra front member Abu Saeed al-Holandi said the decision was finalized when the Russians and Americans started to cooperate against Nusra in Syria.
“When we heard about future American-Russian cooperation against the ‘Syrian revolution’, we made this decision and announced it sooner,” al-Hollandi said.
“The decision was taken to show the reality and to get more ‘support’ from the population and different armed groups. This will help us to survive those attacks with minimal damage, and even turn it into our advantage,” the jihadi official told ARA News.
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