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Nusra Front Quietly Rises in Syria as Islamic State Targeted
(AP-Washington Post) Bassem Mroue - The Nusra Front, Syria's al-Qaeda affiliate, is consolidating power in territory stretching from the Turkish border to central and southern Syria, crushing moderate opponents. Its membership, largely composed of Syrian nationals, refuse any negotiations with the government of President Assad. "The Nusra Front will most likely outlast ISIS in Syria," said Fawaz A. Gerges, director of the Middle East Center at the London School of Economics. The Nusra Front has carried out public lashings, crucifixions and kidnappings - though it has not publicized the atrocities like the Islamic State. Among the group's most worrisome action so far is forcing several hundred members of the minority Druze sect living in Idlib's Jabal al-Summaq region to convert to Sunni Islam.