BEIRUT — Islamic State-linked militants in western Syria have executed scores of rebel fighters as part of an intensifying battle with what remains of the country’s armed opposition, a monitoring group said.
The militants, an offshoot of the Jund al-Aqsa group, killed more than 150 rebels in the village of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib province, the SITE Intelligence Group reported Wednesday.
Citing an al-Qaida-linked news outlet, it said most of the purported victims were part of the U.S.-backed Jaish al-Nasr group.
The news could not be independently verified, although a spokesman for Jaish al-Nasr said 71 of its fighters were recently detained in the neighboring Hama province.
As a nationwide cease-fire largely halts the fighting between rebels and forces loyal to President Bashar Assad, the armed opposition has descended into infighting.
In Idlib, many have divided into two broad alliances, with smaller groups hoping that the larger ones will protect them.
One of these is Tahrir al-Sham, formed last month from a merger of Syria’s former branch of al-Qaida, along with several other Islamist groups. The group has turned on more-moderate factions whose representatives have attended peace talks with the Syrian government in Astana.
Islamic State-aligned factions also have attacked those linked to al-Qaida as part of a bitter fight for influence. In recent weeks, violence has flared between Tahrir al-Sham and Jund al-Aqsa, with the al-Qaida-linked group accusing its Islamic State-aligned opponents of using suicide attacks and car bombs.
