The Sunni militant group ISIS, known for its brutal tactics and harsh interpretation of Shariah law, is pushing farther into Iraq. The organization is considered so extreme that even al-Qaida leaders want nothing to do with it.
In February, as we reported at the time, a statement posted on jihadist websites and attributed to al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri denied that the terror group had any links with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
"Al-Qaida announces it is not linked to ... [ISIS], as it was not informed of its creation [and] did not accept it," the statement said. ISIS "is not a branch of al-Qaida, has no links to it, and the [al-Qaida] group is not responsible for its acts."
As NPR's Alice Fordham reported:
"Zawahiri's complaints about the group seem to be the same as the ones many Iraqis and Syrians have — that it has set up mini-Islamic states, and imposed harsh rules on the local population."