Al-Qaeda and its Syria branch split up

BEIRUT: The Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda, Al-Nusra Front, said Thursday it was breaking ties with the global terror network, in a video showing its leader Abu Mohamad al-Jolani for the first time.

The footage broadcast by Al-Jazeera news channel follows several days of online chatter over a split between Al-Qaeda and its Syria affiliate, a main rival of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group from which it wants to distance itself as a target of foreign air strikes.