Rebel groups pledge allegiance to Jabhat al-Nusra near Aleppo

Rebel groups in Aleppo countryside pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda-lined group, sources said.

6 rebel battalions and Shariah court of Hayyan village in Aleppo countryside have pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda-lined group, Jabhat al-Nusra.

The rebel groups said in a statement that al-Nusra has pledged in its turn any abuses will be culpable.

Zaman Alwasl source said the rebels of the small village have big concerns from imminent attack by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant after setting up new barricades near the village entrances.

Rebel groups have become increasingly fractured, with Islamic extremists, including those linked to al-Qaida, assuming prominent roles in battle.

More than 120,000 people have been killed so far in the war, now in its third year, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which closely monitors the war through a network of activists in the country. The UN said in July that 100,000 Syrians have been killed, and has not updated that figure since. Millions of Syrians have fled their homes because of the fighting

Zaman Alwasl