Syria Rebels Battle Al Qaeda-Linked Group

A group of Syrian rebels has launched an offensive against 'extremist' insurgents they accuse of imposing a reign of terror on areas under their control, including kidnappings, torture and executions.

The newly formed Army of Mujahideen have begun what they call a second "revolution," against the extremist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), nearly three years since the revolution against President Bashar al Assad.

Ibrahim al ldelbi, an activist in northwest Syria with close ties to the rebels, wrote on his Facebook page: "The revolution has returned to its true path, and the rays of the sun have started to shine on Syria."

Another rebel wrote: "January 3, 2014: The revolution against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant begins."

Battles have raged for two days across northern Syria since the Army of Mujahideen declared war on the ISIL.

Two other rebel alliances have also joined the battle against the ISIL. The Islamic Front and the Syrian Revolutionaries Front, which bring together tens of thousands of opposition fighters, have both condemned the ISIL.

The offensive comes nearly three years since the 'first' Syrian revolution

The latest fighting appeared to have been ignited by the torture and murder of an opposition doctor, Dr Hussein al-Sleiman.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based group that relies on sources inside Syria, said the doctor belonged to the Ahrar al Sham rebel group and alleged "one of his ears was cut off before he was shot".

"His body was handed over on Tuesday as part of a prisoner exchange," the group said.

The group also said at least 36 ISIL members and supporters had been killed and another 100 captured by rebels.

The group's setbacks in Syria came as it advanced in neighbouring Iraq, seizing the city of Fallujah and parts of Ramadi in the volatile Anbar province.

It has also claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in a Hezbollah stronghold of southern Beirut that killed at least five people, describing the Shia Muslim group as the "Party of Satan".

The ISIL rebels have also advanced in Ramadi in neighbouring Iraq

Aron Lund, an expert on Syria's insurgency, said ISIL's vision of itself, not as a mere rebel group but as a burgeoning Islamic state governed by a harsh interpretation of sharia law, has alienated other rebel groups, including less radical Islamists.

"We see what the other groups say; that they've given ISIL one chance after another, but that they keep burning their bridges," said Mr Lund, editor of the Syria in Crisis website.

President Assad has insisted the rebels are foreign terrorists; but dissidents say his regime has largely ignored the ISIL while going after peaceful activists and more moderate rebels.

Ahmad al-Khatib, an activist in the Jabal al-Zawiya region in northwestern Idlib, says Islamic rebels have given ISIL members an ultimatum to surrender by Saturday afternoon.

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