Daily Telegraph: Half of Syria Militants Extremists, Linked to Al-Qaeda
Local Editor
Almost half of the armed groups forces fighting against the Syrian government are hardliners or extremists with al-Qaeda links, according to a new study due to be published this week.
Split into around 1,000 fragmented cells, the Syrian opposition consists of at least 10,000 fighters who are extremists with strong links to al-Qaeda, while another 35,000 are hardliners, according to analysis by defense consultancy IHS Jane's.
The difference between extremists and hardliners, the Telegraph reports is that the latter concentrates only on the Syria, while extremists groups have a global outreach. A further 30,000 opposition fighters belong to more moderate groups that have a so-called Islamic character.
Almost half of the armed groups forces fighting against the Syrian government are hardliners or extremists with al-Qaeda links, according to a new study due to be published this week.
Split into around 1,000 fragmented cells, the Syrian opposition consists of at least 10,000 fighters who are extremists with strong links to al-Qaeda, while another 35,000 are hardliners, according to analysis by defense consultancy IHS Jane's.The difference between extremists and hardliners, the Telegraph reports is that the latter concentrates only on the Syria, while extremists groups have a global outreach. A further 30,000 opposition fighters belong to more moderate groups that have a so-called Islamic character.
