BAALBEK, Lebanon: Clashes erupted between ISIS fighters and Nusra Front near the border with Lebanon Friday, after gunmen rejected an attempt by the latter to unite the opposition in the Qalamoun under a single leader.
The clashes concentrated on the outskirts of the Syrian village of Ras al-Maara, a source close to the Nusra Front told The Daily Star. Ras al-Maara is a Syrian village located a few kilometers from Lebanon's northeastern town of Arsal.
Nusra, Al-Qaeda's official affiliate in Syria, has had an on-again, off-again relationship with ISIS since the two had a falling out last year over chain of command when ISIS's current leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi tried to absorb Nusra.
The group under the command of the Nusra Front leader in Qalamoun, Abu Malek al-Talli, engaged in fighting with ISIS gunmen there.
Media reports identified the ISIS branch as the Abi Abdel-Salam group.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the Nusra Front, under Talli, sought to unite opposition groups in the Qalamoun region under a single umbrella to better confront Syrian army troops and its allies, including Hezbollah.
There are around 18 separate groups based in Qalamoun and fight on separate fronts.
ISIS groups based near the border with Lebanon have rejected such a proposal, saying that wanted to preserve the few smuggling routes left in some areas to themselves, the source said.
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