WASHINGTON — Al-Qaida is using U.S. airstrikes in Syria as a reason to extend olive branches to the renegade Islamic State group, saying the two should stop feuding and join forces to attack Western targets.
Intelligence analysts say that while a full reconciliation is not expected anytime soon, there is evidence the two groups are cooperating on parts of the Syrian battlefield.
The British-based organization Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the Islamic State group and al-Qaida's affiliate in Syria, the Nusra Front, have stopped fighting each other since the airstrikes began Sept. 23.
Not all those monitoring jihadi messages believe local truces have occurred.
But when asked if the airstrikes had led to undeclared truces, an activist in central Syria, Bassil Darwish, pointed to the attacks as the main reason.