Armed group says first batch of fighters have arrived and have set up a command and control centre to begin operations. The Pakistani Taliban has said its first batch of fighters has arrived in Syria to fight alongside rebels battling the regime of President Bashar al-Assad…
More than two years since the start of the anti-Assad rebellion, Syria has become a magnet for foreign Sunni fighters who have flocked to the country to what many see as a holy war against the regime.
Operating alongside armed groups such as the al-Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria and a US-designated terrorist organisation, they mainly come from nearby countries such as Libya and Tunisia.
Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, said the Taliban claimed that "Arab fighters in Syria had requested their help, that hundreds of their fighters were preparing to go there, or were already in Syria, through unfrequented roots".
The announcement further complicates the picture on the ground in Syria, where rivalries have already been intense between the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and groups seeking to implement Islamic law…
It also comes at a time when Assad's forces, with backing from Shia fighters from Hezbollah and Iran, have been making gains on the Syrian battlefield.
The Pakistani Taliban, known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban, operate mainly from Pakistan's ethnic Pashtun areas along the Afghan border - a long-standing stronghold for armed groups including the Taliban and their al-Qaeda allies.
Taliban fighters in Pakistan, who are linked to their Afghan counterparts, are mainly fighting to topple Pakistan's government and to impose their version of Islam, targeting the military, security forces and civilians.
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies Please keep Syria and its ongoing conflict in your prayers. Some local Christian leaders are gathering there shortly for a united prayer initiative. Pray that they will be led by the Lord in confessing the sins of the nation, working for reconciliation among themselves and praying unitedly for His healing and deliverance for this embattled and suffering nation. There are also huge numbers that have left their homes and become refugees both within Syria and in nearby nations, causing a potentially catastrophic humanitarian situation. Pray for their needs to be supplied quickly and generously by the host governments, the international community and humanitarian and church organizations.