Image copyright AFP Image caption The fighting is seen as a power struggle between jihadist groups

Dozens of fighters have been killed in clashes between two jihadist factions in northern Syria, reports say.

The battles involved Tahrir al-Sham, formerly an al-Qaeda affiliate, and Jund al-Aqsa, regarded as close to so-called Islamic State (IS).

UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said the fighting was a "war for influence" in Idlib province.

Inter-factional fighting has beleaguered insurgents since early on in the Syria war.

Last month, a hardline Islamist group, Ahrar al-Sham, was also involved in days of clashes in Idlib with Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (JFS), which rebranded itself as Tahrir al-Sham, an alliance of jihadist groups, at the end of January.

Nearly 70 people have been killed in the latest fighting, which began on Monday morning, according to the SOHR and a rebel commander.

Tahrir al-Sham has captured six villages from Jund al-Aqsa, the SOHR said. The two sides are also reported to have clashed in the north of neighbouring Hama province.

Idlib province, in the country's north-west, has long been a rebel stronghold, dominated by Ahrar al-Sham and JFS/Tahrir al-Sham.

The SOHR said the fighting erupted after Jund al-Aqsa carried out a suicide bombing on Tahrir al-Sham, killing nine people, AFP news agency reported.

However, a Jund al-Aqsa commander told the Associated Press that Tahrir al-Sham had attacked his group's positions first.

The two factions were allied for a short time last year but fell out soon after.</s>Jund al-Aqsa and Tahrir al-Sham clashed around Kafr Zeita in the countryside north of Hama, and near Tamaniaa, Khan Sheikhoun and Tal Aaas in southern Idlib Province, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based war monitor.

An official with a rebel group that fights under the banner of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), which was not involved in Monday's confrontations, confirmed the fighting.

A statement released by Tahrir al-Sham said Jund al-Aqsa was responsible for the violence, accusing it of coordinating with Islamic State and of having attacked Tahrir al-Sham with suicide blasts and a car bomb.

The main conflict in Syria's civil war pits President Bashar al-Assad, backed by Russia, Iran and Shi'ite militias, against an array of rebel groups aiming to oust him, including some that have been backed by the United States, Turkey and Gulf monarchies.

Since the army recaptured Aleppo in December, some of the many armed groups in the northwest have consolidated into factions that are now fighting each other for control of territory and resources.

Tahrir al-Sham was formed in January from a merger of Syria's former branch of al Qaeda, previously known as the Nusra Front and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, along with several other Islamist groups

Jund al-Aqsa and Fateh al-Sham fell out last year despite having previously aligned with each other, and insurgent sources and the Observatory say Jund al-Aqsa's ideology is closer to that of Islamic State group, al Qaeda's main jihadist rival.

Both Tahrir al-Sham and Jund al-Aqsa are also fighting against an alliance of another Islamist group, Ahrar al-Sham, and rebel factions fighting under the FSA banner. Jihadist groups attacked the FSA for sending delegates to peace talks in Kazakhstan last month.</s>Dozens killed in fighting among jihadists in Syria

BEIRUT, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Dozens of fighters have been killed in two days of fighting between rival jihadist factions in northwestern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Tuesday.

The fighting has pitted a jihadist group seen as ideologically close to Islamic State - Jund al-Aqsa - against a newly formed jihadist alliance spearheaded by a faction that was once al Qaeda's official affiliate in the war.

The jihadist alliance - Tahrir al-Sham - has captured at least six villages from Jund al-Aqsa since Monday, the Observatory reported. Their power struggle is focused in northern areas of Hama province and adjoining areas of Idlib.

Tahrir al-Sham was formed last month from an alliance of factions including Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, known as the Nusra Front until it formally severed ties with al Qaeda last year.

The Observatory said the death toll on both sides so far stood at 69. (Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Gareth Jones)</s>Syrian jihadists seen as close to Islamic State battled a rival hardline Islamist faction on Monday in north-western Syria, a war monitor and an official with another insurgent group said, in an escalating power struggle.

Jund al-Aqsa and Tahrir al-Sham clashed around Kafr Zeita in the countryside north of Hama, and near Tamaniaa, Khan Sheikhoun and Tal Aaas in southern Idlib Province, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor.

An official with a rebel group that fights under the banner of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), which was not involved in Monday’s confrontations, confirmed the fighting.

The main conflict in Syria‘s civil war pits President Bashar al-Assad, backed by Russia, Iran and Shi’ite militias, against an array of rebel groups aiming to oust him, including some that have been backed by the US, Turkey and Gulf monarchies.

Since the army took Aleppo in December, some of the many armed groups in the northwest have consolidated into factions that are now fighting each other for control of territory and resources.

Tahrir al-Sham was formed in January from a merger of Syria‘s former branch of al Qaeda, previously known as the Nusra Front and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, along with several other Islamist groups

Jund al-Aqsa and Fateh al-Sham fell out late last year despite having previously aligned with each other, and insurgent sources and the Observatory say Jund al-Aqsa’s ideology is closer to that of Islamic State group, al Qaeda’s main jihadist rival.

Both Tahrir al-Sham and Jund al-Aqsa are also fighting against an alliance of another Islamist group, Ahrar al-Sham, and rebel factions fighting under the FSA banner. Jihadist groups attacked the FSA for sending delegates to peace talks in Kazakhstan last month.</s>BEIRUT -- Clashes between two extremist factions in northwestern Syria left dozens of fighters dead on both sides and raised fears of more deadly violence between groups battling President Bashar Assad's troops, activists and insurgents said Tuesday.

The fighting between the al-Qaida-led coalition known as the Levant Liberation Committee and the extremist Jund al-Aqsa group left nearly 70 fighters dead in some of the deadliest clashes between insurgents in years, an opposition monitoring group and a rebel commander said.

The fighting centered in areas where the central province of Hama and the northwestern province of Idlib meet, they said.

A Syrian rebel commander, speaking from Turkey, said Jund al-Aqsa has proved recently that it is a branch of the Islamic State extremist group, which is the rival of Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, the group formerly known as the Nusra Front. Jabhat Fatah al-Sham leads the Levant Liberation Committee. The commander, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisals, said Jund al-Aqsa fighters stormed several areas controlled by the Levant Liberation Committee and killed some of its members, triggering intense fighting.

"There is no solution but to uproot Jund al-Aqsa," the commander said by telephone.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which tracks Syria's war, reported that the Levant Liberation Committee had captured six villages from Jund al-Aqsa.

The Observatory said two days of fighting has left 69 fighters dead, 39 of them from the Levant Liberation Committee. It said the 30 dead from Jund al-Aqsa includes four suicide attackers who blew up vehicles that they were driving.

In audio released late Monday, Abdul-Rahim Attoun, a senior al-Qaida religious official in Syria, blamed Jund al-Aqsa, saying it's a group that paid allegiance to the Islamic State. He added that Jund al-Aqsa was blocking roads used by the Levant Liberation Committee to attack government forces.

A Jund al-Aqsa commander who goes by the name of Karmo said the fighting was triggered by Levant Liberation Committee attacks on Jund al-Aqsa positions.

In the southern city of Daraa, where clashes between insurgents and government forces have continued for days, opposition activist Ahmad al-Masalmeh said an air raid hit a hospital in the city, putting it out of service. The Observatory's chief, Rami Abdurrahman, said there were reports of a hospital being hit and that he was still working on confirmation.

The fighting came as a state-run newspaper said in an editorial that a meeting between the Syrian government and opposition this week will not be "fruitful" unless they are focused on fighting terrorism.

The two-day conference in Astana, Kazakhstan, that begins today is aimed at strengthening a Dec. 30 cease-fire. The government has long referred to all those fighting against it, including mainstream rebels, as "terrorists."

An editorial in the Al-Baath daily, run by Assad's ruling Baath party, said that "without fighting terrorism and defeating terrorists, any solution will not be fruitful."

The cease-fire excludes Jabhat Fatah al-Sham and the Islamic State.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari told state TV that a cease-fire and reconciliation in Syria are on the agenda in the Astana talks.

"Consolidation of the cease-fire, inspecting cases of violation and finalization of regulations for monitoring of the cease-fire will be carried out in the talks," Ansari said upon arrival in Astana. "Political issues related to the trend of reconciliation in Syria are on the agenda in Astana."

Astana hosted a round of talks among the main Syrian players last month. A new round of United Nations-brokered peace talks for Syria is scheduled for Feb. 23. Several previous attempts to end the civil war, which began nearly six years ago, have failed.

In Damascus, the U.N. resident and humanitarian coordinator for Syria appealed to all parties to reach an agreement for immediate access to the besieged villages of Zabadani, Madaya, Foua and Kfarya, adding that aid has not reached those areas since Nov. 28.

Ali Al-Za'tari said in a statement that "the situation is a looming humanitarian catastrophe." He added that 60,000 "innocent people" live in those areas.

Information for this article was contributed by Nasser Karimi and Albert Aji of The Associated Press.</s>Alwaght- At Least 50 terrorists were killed and more than 100 injured in Syria's Idlib after infighting intensified among terrorists.

The internal strife erupted in south of Idlib on the vicinity of Khan Touman and its nearby villages while the clashes were exclusively between Tahrir al-Sham and Jund al-Aqsa, Al Masdar News reported.

On Monday afternoon, Jund al-Aqsa militants stormed a sharia court around two kilometers south of Khan Touman and executed 24 members of Tahrir al-Sham at point-blank range.

Several notorious terrorists were among the killed, including Abou Bakr Tamana, Abou Hussien al-Harmosh, Abou Riyhana, and Muhammad Al-Dashash.

Muhammad Al-Dashash was featured in several Jabhat al-Nusra propaganda videos and remained a field commander up until his death.

In a separate instance, two terrorists were killed as a van accidentally blew up elsewhere in the Idlib countryside after storing ammunition improperly.</s>Nearly 70 fighters from two formerly allied jihadist groups have been killed during infighting over the past 24 hours in northern Syria, a monitor said on Tuesday.

The clashes between former Al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham and the hardline jihadist Jund al-Aqsa faction erupted on Monday morning, after tensions over influence in the northwestern province of Idlib.

The fighting reflects the growing strained relations between different factions in Idlib province that once fought alongside either other against President Bashar al-Assad's forces.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the clashes erupted after Jund al-Aqsa carried out a suicide bomb attack against a Fateh al-Sham headquarters in Idlib, killing nine people.

The toll has now risen to 69 dead from both sides in heavy clashes as well as executions, with the fighting spreading to the neighbouring province of Hama.

"There are battles between warlords, it's a war for influence," said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.

Jund al-Aqsa is reviled by most rebels in the region, and is designed a "terrorist group" by Washington.

Despite that, in October Fateh al-Sham announced it had taken Jund al-Aqsa under its wing, although clashes between the two groups erupted shortly afterwards.

In January, Fateh al-Sham also battled other rebel groups in Idlib during 10 days of clashes that killed dozens of fighters.

Idlib province is held almost entirely by opposition factions, and was captured by an alliance of fighters dubbed the Army of Conquest, led by Fateh al-Sham.

More than 310,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011 with anti-government protests.

The war has become a complex multi-front conflict, drawing in jihadist groups and international armies.</s>RIYADH - Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Saudi Arabia's top leadership on Tuesday during a visit to further strengthen ties as part of a Gulf tour ahead of Syria peace talks.

King Salman hosted a luncheon banquet for Erdogan, who arrived in Riyadh late Monday, the official Saudi Press Agency said.

It gave no details of their discussions, but said Erdogan also met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, the interior minister, and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is defence minister. The two Sunni powers have become increasingly close over the past year, sharing in particular a backing for the opposition in Syria's war.

As Erdogan held talks in Riyadh, his Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told his ruling Justice and Development Party lawmakers in Ankara that Al-Bab in northern Syria was "largely" under the control of Turkish-backed Syrian rebels after months of clashes with militants.

Al-Bab was the Islamic State group's last stronghold in Aleppo province.

Ankara has taken on an increasingly important role with Moscow and Iran as a powerbroker in the Syria conflict.

Nearly 70 fighters from two formerly allied militant groups have been killed during infighting over the past 24 hours in northern Syria, a monitor said on Tuesday.

The clashes between former Al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham and the hardline militant Jund al-Aqsa faction erupted on Monday morning, after tensions over influence in the northwestern province of Idlib. The fighting reflects the growing strained relations between different factions in Idlib province that once fought alongside either other against President Bashar al-Assad's forces.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the clashes erupted after Jund al-Aqsa carried out a suicide bomb attack against a Fateh al-Sham headquarters in Idlib, killing nine people.

The toll has now risen to 69 dead from both sides in heavy clashes as well as executions, with the fighting spreading to the neighbouring province of Hama.

"There are battles between warlords, it's a war for influence," said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.

Jund al-Aqsa is reviled by most rebels in the region, and is designed a "terrorist group" by Washington.

Despite that, in October Fateh al-Sham announced it had taken Jund al-Aqsa under its wing, although clashes between the two groups erupted shortly afterwards.

In January, Fateh al-Sham also battled other rebel groups in Idlib during 10 days of clashes that killed dozens of fighters.

Idlib province is held almost entirely by opposition factions, and was captured by an alliance of fighters dubbed the Army of Conquest, led by Fateh al-Sham.

More than 310,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011 with anti-government protests.

The war has become a complex multi-front conflict, drawing in militant groups and international armies.</s>The fighting has pitted a jihadist group seen as ideologically close to Islamic State - Jund al-Aqsa - against a newly formed jihadist alliance spearheaded by a faction that was once al Qaeda's official affiliate in the war.

The jihadist alliance - Tahrir al-Sham - has captured at least six villages from Jund al-Aqsa since Monday, the Observatory reported. Their power struggle is focused in northern areas of Hama province and adjoining areas of Idlib.

Tahrir al-Sham was formed last month from an alliance of factions including Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, known as the Nusra Front until it formally severed ties with al Qaeda last year.

The Observatory said the death toll on both sides so far stood at 69.</s>Clashes between two extremist factions in north-western Syria have left dozens of fighters dead on both sides and raised fears of more deadly violence between groups battling President Bashar Assad's troops.

The fighting between the al Qaida-led coalition known as the Levant Liberation Committee and the extremist Jund al-Aqsa group left nearly 70 dead in some of the worst clashes between insurgents in years, an opposition monitoring group and a rebel commander said.

The violence, ahead of UN-brokered peace talks later this month, was centred in areas where the central province of Hama and the north-western province of Idlib meet.

A Syrian rebel commander speaking from Turkey said Jund al-Aqsa has proven recently that it is a branch of the Islamic State group that is the arch rival of al Qaida's Fatah al-Sham Front.

The commander said Jund al-Aqsa fighters stormed several areas controlled by the Levant Liberation Committee and killed some of its members, triggering intense fighting.

"There is no solution but to uproot Jund al-Aqsa," the commander said.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Levant Liberation Committee has captured six villages from Jund al-Aqsa.

The Observatory said two days of fighting has left 69 fighters dead, including 39 from the Levant Liberation Committee. It said the 30 dead from Jund al-Aqsa include four suicide attackers who blew up their vehicles.

Abdul-Rahim Attoun, a senior al Qaida religious official in Syria, blamed Jund al-Aqsa for being a group that paid allegiance to IS. He added that Jund al-Aqsa was blocking roads used by the Levant Liberation Committee to attack government forces.

A Jund al-Aqsa commander who goes by the name of Karmo said the fighting was triggered by Levant Liberation Committee attacks on Jund al-Aqsa positions.

In the southern city of Daraa, where clashes between insurgents and government forces have continued for days, opposition activist Ahmad al-Masalmeh said an air raid had hit a hospital, putting it out of service.

The fighting came as a state-run newspaper said in an editorial that a meeting between the Syrian government and opposition in Kazakhstan this week will not be "fruitful" unless they are focused on fighting terrorism.

The two-day conference in Astana that begins on Wednesday is aimed at strengthening a December 30 ceasefire. The government has long referred to all those fighting against it, including mainstream rebels, as "terrorists".
Rival fighters between Tahrir al-Sham and Jund al-Aqsa clash in Syria's northern Idlib Governorate, killing "dozens" according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.