Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Iran Is No Longer A Safe Haven For Al Qaeda

 

Iran, al-Qaeda Relationship Is Showing Cracks, U.S. Officials And Analysts Say -- Washington Post

Iran’s expulsion of a senior al-Qaeda official appears to signal a crackdown on the terrorist group that has long been granted safe haven within its borders, U.S. officials say.

Iran’s ouster of Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, a former al-Qaeda spokesman and the son-in-law of Osama bin Laden, marked at least the third time in the past year that a prominent al-Qaeda figure has left the country after living for years in a limbo between houseguest and home detainee.

U.S. officials and terrorism experts say the tougher stance appears to reflect growing tensions between Iran’s Shiite clerics and the Sunni Muslim terrorist group, particularly over the civil war in Syria, where they are backing opposing sides.

Read more ....

My Comment: The Syrian sectarian civil war is exacerbating Sunni-Shiite ties throughout the region. The Shiite clerics do not trust Al Qaeda's Sunni terror leaders .... and they have every reason to do so.

Peter Bergen has a good review of this relationship.

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