Is Al Qaeda Being Absorbed By ISIS? ISIS Merges With Al Qaeda Syrian Offshoot Al-Nusra Front

Merger: Images shared online appeared to show al-Nusra's alleged leader in the Albu Kamel region, Abu Yusuf al-Masri, shaking hands with ISIS fighters after apparently taking an oath of allegiance to the group

Could ISIS Now Be Twice As Powerful? Membership Of Extreme Group May Double In Size As It Merges With al Qaeda's 15,000-Strong Syrian Offshoot On Border With Iraq -- Daily Mail

* Al-Nusra Front is said to have pledged allegiance to ISIS on Iraq border
* Merger could see up to 15,000 additional Islamist militants join ISIS ranks
* Leaders of al-Nusra have previously taken oath of allegiance to al-Qaeda
* Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri said group represented him in Syria
* Alliance with ISIS casts doubt on the original agreement with al-Qaeda
* Al-Zawahiri has previously disowned ISIS, calling brutal tactics too extreme

The number of Islamist extremists fighting for ISIS could double after al-Qaeda's 15,000 strong offshoot in Syria is said to have pledged allegiance to the militant group.

The merger is believed to have taken place in Albu Kamel - on the border of Syria and Iraq, where all of the crossings are currently in the hands of Sunni militia, many of them members of ISIS.

In April the al-Nusra Front pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who has previously condemned ISIS' brutal attempts to establish an Islamic state in the Middle East as too extreme, so the development points to a new split within al-Qaeda's ranks.

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More News On The Merger Of ISIS And Al Qaeda's Syrian Offshoot Al-Nusra Front

Al-Qaeda merges with Isis at Syria-Iraq border town -- The Telegraph
Syrian branch of al Qaeda vows loyalty to Iraq's ISIS -- France 24
Al-Qaeda Joins Forces with Isis in Battle for Iraq -- IBTimes
After winning the border in Iraq, ISIS unites with Syria al Qaeda unit -- Deutsche Welle

My Comment: This is a significant development ... and it is not getting the coverage from the Western press that it deserves. ISIS is essentially absorbing Al Qaeda into it's ranks .... and if it continues .... ISIS will replace Al Qaeda (if not already) as the world's largest and most effective force in the radical Islamic community.