AhlulBayt News Agency - Top commander in the ranks of the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) was killed on Sunday after internal clashes broke out among the group’s militants in Syria’s northeastern city of Raqqa.
Abu Ali al-Tunisi, a Tunisian terrorist and commander of ISIS military operations in northern Raqqa, was killed at the hands of fellow ISIS militants, according to an informed source in Raqqa.
“Al-Tunisi was attacked by a group of ISIS militants who used to fight under his command in the northern countryside of Raqqa,” said the local media activist Ammar al-Hassan.
The militants have reportedly opened fire at the car of their commander on Sunday evening, killing him and two of his escorts.
“Clashes broke out among the militants after the death of al-Tunisi, until the ISIS-led Islamic Police intervened and arrested at least three of those responsible for the commander’s death,” al-Hassan reported.
This comes amid escalating rifts within the group over power and distribution of money.
Local members of ISIS have reportedly protested against the group’s leadership for promoting a number of foreign militants to senior positions. Moreover, a wave of outrage has recently spread among the militants for the decreasing salaries, that followed the group’s loss of key resources amid continuous airstrikes by the western coalition.
In the meantime, dozens of militant fighters deserted ISIS ranks in Aleppo with support from Syrian rebel factions. “There have been confidential contacts between opposition factions and members of ISIS over the past two months. The efforts resulted in the defection of 40 ISIS militants with support from Failaq al-Sham (main Syrian rebel group in Aleppo),” rebel spokesman Ali Jaafar told Kurdish News on Sunday.
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