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Report: Al-Qaeda Affiliate Nearly Gone from Southern Syria
(Times of Israel) Elhanan Miller - While Islamic State forces have been gaining control of territory in northern and central Syria, the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front has all but disappeared from the southern provinces of the country, an opposition Free Syrian Army spokesman said Monday. He said "a large number of them defected and joined other opposition factions," meaning that the number of Nusra fighters in the provinces of Quneitra and Daraa, adjacent to the Israeli and Jordanian borders, has diminished in recent weeks from 3,000 to no more than 700. He added that 80-90% of Nusra's fighters are locals, as opposed to the Islamic State which is mostly composed of foreign fighters.