The ISIL is one of the strongest armed forces on the ground in Syria fighting at the side of the Western-backed Syrian opposition.

The group which carries al-Qaeda’s flag entered the war in Syria as al-Qaeda’s representative but later, was replaced with the al-Nusra Front by Aymen Zawahiri, al-Qaeda’s spiritual leader.

"Al Qaeda announces that it does not link itself with [ISIL] ... It is not a branch of the Al-Qaeda group, does not have an organizational relationship with it and [Al-Qaeda] is not the group responsible for their actions," the General Command said in a message posted on al-Qaeda-affiliated websites on Monday.

ISIL and al-Nusra Front, two main affiliates of al-Qaeda in Syria are among the most feared militant groups with extremist-marked behaviors that have been involved in countless atrocities against Syrian people and army soldiers.

There are many amateur videos showing public executions, many of them summary-style, and violent punishments done by these groups in different parts of Syria.

In November 2013, Zawahiri ordered the disbanding of ISIL in an audio message aired on Qatari news channel Al-Jazeera.

"The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is to be abolished, while the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) remains functioning," he said.

Zawahiri said the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, "has made a mistake by establishing the Islamic state of Iraq and the Levant without asking for our permission, or even informing us."

He said the rule of ISI will be confined to Iraq, while the Al-Nusra Front in Syria will be "an independent branch of Al-Qaeda that reports to the general command."

SHI/SHI