ISIS vs. al-Qaeda in the fight for Syria

On May 17, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov co-chaired a Vienna meeting of the International Syria Support Group, in an effort to put forward a peace plan.

Much of the agenda was predictable — covering ISIS, humanitarian aid, and whether Russia would continue to back Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

But a new enemy was addressed: Nusra Front, the al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria. 

For the past two years, while the world has been watching the ISIS fight ravage parts of Syria, a different player has been slowly gaining traction.

The Nusra Front first emerged in January 2012, 10 months after the start of anti-government protests in Syria. 

In April 2013, Nusra refused to join ISIS  and pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda's leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, who later proclaimed Nusra the only branch of al-Qaeda in Syria. 

On May 7, Nusra Front captured international attention when al-Zawahiri urged jihadis in Syria to unite under its banner and possibly establish an emirate in the war-torn country.  

Analysts say they aren't surprised at al-Qaeda's gains in Syria but are concerned the jihadi group is gaining ground in territory beyond its traditional strongholds.

Guests in this segment:

• Yasir Abbas, former interpreter for the U.S. Army and is now a senior analyst with The Stabilization Network, a Washington D.C.-based organization that researches violent extremism. He has been tracking Nusra Front's movement in Syria over the last two years.
   
• Michael Kugelman, senior associate at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.