25 Islamist groups unite under Al Qaeda command in Al Qalamoun battles

More than 25 Islamist fighting groups in Al Qalamoun, northeast Damascus, have founded a joint command room to lead the ongoing battles near the Lebanese border.  

The rebels agreed to operate under Al Nusra Front command, they said in a statement issued today.

Syrian regime forces made gains recently in Al Qalamoun’s key towns like Nabk and Deir Attiyiah, one of the last rebel-held areas in the Qalamoun region bordering Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Al Qaeda main branch in Syrian, Al Nusra Front has proved efficiency in the battlefields, its troops are more organized and qualified m experts said, this fact pushed many faction to join Al Nusra or to fight under its banner.

The Statement said that rebels had established 3 main sectors, Yabroud, Ma'loula and Rankus where each sector included ten fighting factions at least.

Syria's rebels are mainly Sunni, with hard-line Muslim brigades emerging as the most powerful fighting groups.

Syria's armed uprising began as a series of peaceful democracy protests 33 months ago but escalated into a full-blown civil war after Assad's regime launched a brutal crackdown on dissent.

The conflict is estimated to have killed around 126,000 people and displaced millions more.