MB Mourn Al-Qaeda Jihadis Killed by ISIS

Muslim Brotherhood leaders have released a statement mourning the death of leaders from an Al-Qaeda linked group killed in Syria. Ahrar al Sham leader Hassan Abboud was among 50 senior figures killed during an unexplained blast in North West Syria on Tuesday. The cause of the blast is as of yet unexplained although many suspect ISIS to be behind the attack. Ahrar al Sham are best known harbouring brutal Al-Qaeda separatists. Hours later, the Muslim Brotherhood released a sickening statement mourning the loss of the Al-Qaeda inspired militants.

It read: "Dying for the sake of God is every true Muslim fighter's wish. For this wish to be honoured by God is evidence of sincerity and truthful determination. When I first met with those heroes, I saw honesty and determination to achieve the good goals and confidence in Allah's victory shine in their words. We console ourselves, Ahrar Movement, the martyrs' families and the Syrian people for the loss of this fine group of faithful men."

The statement comes in a week when the Brotherhood attempted to distance itself from extremist ideologies by holding so-called 'Dank' protests against price hikes and their effect on the poor. However the statement will leave many questioning whether the group is truly able to leave their hardline views behind.

US intelligence officials claim that al-Qaeda officials have managed to influence actions of the group and install operatives within senior ranks of the group. These links first came to light in January 2014 when a senior leader of Ahrar al Sham, Abu Khalid al-Suri, admitted his long-time membership in Al-Qaeda. Al-Suri was killed during an ISIS attack in February.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shokri called for a global strategy to fight terrorism ahead of a regional meeting on combatting extremism set to be held in Jeddah on Thursday. Speaking before the meet, an Egyptian diplomatic source said:“Cairo will discuss every effort which can be made by the alliance to eradicate the phenomenon of extremist groups in the region.”

In April, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, the current leader of Al Qaeda, expressed solidarity with Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood in a recent video and urged his followers to conduct kidnappings of Westerners.