Top US intelligence officials confirm: 'Al Qaeda infiltrated Syrian Opposition!'

Via FLC

"... "We believe that al Qaida in Iraq is extending its reach into Syria," Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper said in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

It was the first time that a top U.S. official publicly confirmed the involvement of al Qaida in Iraq, or AQI, in the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad, ...

Clapper's comments came one week after a McClatchy report quoted unnamed U.S. officials as saying that AQI was responsible for suicide bombings in Damascus in December and January, and was believed to be behind two strikes last week in Aleppo. The four attacks targeted intelligence and security compounds and killed at least 70 people....

Clapper said that AQI extremists appear to have secretly joined some of the groups of civilians and military deserters — known collectively as the Free Syrian Army

A "disturbing phenomenon that we've seen recently, apparently, is the presence of extremists who have infiltrated the opposition groups," Clapper said. "The opposition groups in many cases may not be aware they are there."..."

Posted by G, M, Z, or B at 8:06 PM

US Officials: 'Syrian Sunni fighters loosely affiliated with Al Qaeda operating in common with pro-democracy forces'

"... The precise role of the Iraqi branch of Al Qaeda in Syria is unclear. Some intelligence officials and diplomats in Washington, Baghdad and Beirut, Lebanon, said the Qaeda franchise was responsible for the deadly bombings in Aleppo last week and in Damascus, the capital, on Dec. 23 and Jan. 6, which killed scores of people. Other officials said Sunni fighters loosely affiliated with Al Qaeda but not directly controlled by the terrorist group may also have been involved, operating in common cause with but independently of pro-democracy forces seeking to topple the embattled government of President Bashar al-Assad.
“It appears to be a very complicated mixture of networks that are fighting the Syrian government, including individuals associated with Al Qaeda in Iraq,” said Seth G. Jones, a political scientist at the RAND Corporation and the author of the coming book “Hunting in the Shadows: The Pursuit of Al Qa’ida Since 9/11.”

Posted by G, M, Z, or B at 8:04 AM

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