Militant group Al-Nusra Front breaks off Al-Qaeda ties

By Mohamad Misto

ANKARA (AA) – Syrian militant group Al-Nusra Front has terminated all ties with Al Qaeda, the group’s leader told a Qatar-based television network Thursday.

In remarks made during an interview with Al Jazeera Arabic, Nusra leader Abu Muhammad al-Golani said the ties with Al-Qaeda had been dissolved and his group would now continue fighting as the "Conquest of Damascus Front".

Golani said the latest move was to eliminate, what he called, all excuses made by the U.S. and Russia to bomb the civilians in Syria.

Their new "Conquest of Damascus Front" would have no links to any foreign groups, he said.

Nusra Front, founded in 2012 in Syria, was one of the leading opposition groups fighting against the regime across the war-torn country.

When the front was asked to swear allegiance to Daesh leader Muhammad Baghdadi, it announced loyalty to Al-Qaeda after which the U.S. listed the group as a terrorist organization.

Both Al Qaeda and Al-Nusra Front are currently in the terror list of the United Nations Security Council.