Al-Qaeda actually has two major factions in Syria. The al-Nusra Front, or Jabhat al-Nusra, was formed in early 2012 with the assistance of al-Qaeda’s Iraqi franchise. The group initially played down its al-Qaeda connection, but now openly trumpets its loyalty to al-Qaeda's leader, the Egyptian Ayman Zawahiri, currently hiding out in Pakistan. Sunnis from across the Arab world have been streaming to al-Nusra, with scores already martyred in the Syrian conflict.
Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) is likewise directly active in Syria. Its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, also known as Abu D’ua, masterminded the July attacks on two Iraqi prisons that sprung hundreds of al-Qaeda members and sympathizers. He had in April announced that AQI, branching out, would henceforth be known as the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham. (Al-Sham refers to what is today Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel.)
Baghdadi also proclaimed his assumption of the leadership of al-Qaeda across the Fertile Crescent, pointing out that in 2004 Osama bin Laden had appointed his predecessor, AQI founder Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, commander of the area. In August, the State Department revealed that Baghdadi had transferred his base of operations to Syria, certainly making it harder for Iraqi security forces to pinpoint his whereabouts. The United States is offering a $10 million reward for information resulting in his capture or death.
Mohammad al-Golani, a Syrian who worked with Zarqawi in Iraq and now leads the al-Nusra Front , claims to be independent of Baghdadi, instead reporting directly to al-Zawahiri. Nonetheless, on the battlefield, the two al-Qaeda affiliates are cooperating in the fight to bring down Assad.
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http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/09/undermine-al-qaeda-syria.html
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