Al-Qaeda fighters push offensive in northern Syria
BEIRUT - Al-Qaeda-linked militants pressed an offensive Monday against Western-backed rebels in northern Syria, closing in on a vital border crossing with Turkey and exposing the weakness of mainstream opposition groups that the US hopes to forge into a fighting force to take on Islamic extremists.
The Nusra Front - a bitter and bloody rival of the Islamic State group despite their shared extremist ideology - was massing its fighters Monday in the town of Sarmada near the Bab al-Hawa border crossing after sweeping through rebel-held towns and villages over the weekend. As the extent of the rout became apparent, reports also emerged that some rebels had pledged allegiance to the al-Qaeda affiliate.
