Jihadist That US Kept Off Terror List Attack UN Humanitarian Convoy In Syria

"Militants from an Al-Qaeda-linked group, Jaysh al-Islam, have shelled a UN humanitarian convoy near Damascus, the Russian Defense Ministry said. Despite the group’s repeated ceasefire violations, the UN rejected Russia’s bid to add it to the terror list.

"Insurgents of the Jaysh al-Islam grouping, which had claimed to belong to the [Syrian] opposition, carried out shelling of the UN humanitarian convoy in [the area of] Eastern Harasta [Damascus province]," the ministry said in a statement.

The militants are supported by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and the group is a part of a larger coalition called the Islamic Front that seeks to make Syria a country ruled by sharia law, exactly what its rival Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) aims to achieve. The group positions itself as “brother” fighters of the Al-Nusra Front, the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda that is recognized as a terrorist group by the UN and many nations, including Russia, Iran and Egypt.

Jaysh al-Islam had previously admitted to using chemical weapons against Kurdish militias in Aleppo earlier this year. It is also known to have used human shields and published ISIS-style execution videos.

Washington said it would continue to back the group because they were “vetted” by the Saudis and play a role in the Syrian political process."

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:Nelson: