Infighting between rival terrorist groups leaves dozens dead in Syria: Observatory

At least 40 foreign-sponsored militants have been killed during a fresh wave of infighting that broke out between rival Takfiri terrorist groups on the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus, says a UK-based monitoring group.

The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the militants were slain after clashes erupted between the so-called Jaish al-Islam terror group and the two allied groups of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly known as al-Nusra Front, and Faylaq al-Rahman, in Eastern Ghouta region on Friday morning.

"There were at least 15 dead among the ranks of Jaish al-Islam and 23 among its adversaries" as well as two civilians, the monitoring group further said, adding that at least 70 other militants sustained injuries in the clashes.

Citing a statement released by the Saudi-backed Jaish al-Islam Takfiri group, the monitoring group said the clashes, which are still underway, took place after the terror group's rivals captured a reinforcement convoy headed for the strategic al-Qaboun suburb of Damascus to confront government troops.

The Faylaq al-Rahman militant group, however, in a statement denied the allegation, saying Jaish al-Islam had been "preparing for weeks" to launch an offensive against its militants in Eastern Ghouta region. It added that one of its commanders had been killed in Friday's clashes.

Reports say that clashes between the two Takfiri factions also erupted in the towns of Madira, Beit Sawa, Arbin, Kafr Batna, Hazza and Zamalka.

Clashes between rival militant groups in war-torn Syria are quite common. In February, the two previously allied terror groups of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham and Jund al-Aqsa, which are said to be Daesh affiliates, engaged in a deadly infighting that killed nearly 70 militants from both sides in the northwestern province of Idlib.

In January, dozens of militants were killed after Fateh al-Sham terrorists engaged in a 10-day-long fighting with other militant factions in the same province.

In May last year, another infighting between Jaish al-Islam and Faylaq al-Rahman militants killed over 500 terrorists from both sides and claimed the lives of 10 civilians, including four children.

Jaish al-Islam is the dominant Takfiri group in Eastern Ghouta. One of the group’s leaders, Mohammad Alloush, has been among the senior negotiators of the so-called opposition group at peace talks in Switzerland and Kazakhstan.

For nearly six years, Syria has been fighting foreign-sponsored militancy. United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimated in August last year that more than 400,000 people had been killed in the war until then. The UN stopped its official casualty count in the war-torn country, citing its inability to verify the figures it received from various sources.

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