Syria’s President, Bashar Al-Assad, claimed on Thursday that there is “no contradiction” between Israel and jihadist groups such as the Islamic State (ISIS).
Assad was speaking in an interview with the Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravdaand was responding to a question regarding Israel and ISIS.
“For me, it’s a very strange thing,” the interviewer said, according to an English transcript provided by the Syrian news agency SANA. “ISIS, with their ideology, never threaten Israel, and Israel never threaten[s] ISIS. It’s like some kind of agreement about – maybe not on friendship – but neutrality. Why, you think, it’s like this? And what’s the role of Israel in this war?”
Assad replied by claiming that all the “terrorist groups” which operate in his country are supported by Israel. The Assad regime uses the term “terrorist groups” to define all of Assad’s opponents, including both moderate, Western-backed rebels and jihadist groups like ISIS. READ MORE
