Syrian Militant Group Issues Threat Over Air Strikes

The Al-Qaeda-linked group called on jihadists around the world to target Western and Arab countries involved.

This comes as the US and other nations widened air strikes against Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria.

The Pentagon says that jets hit the Syrian city of Raqqa on Saturday including IS positions near the Turkish border.

Since an IS advance sent about 140,000 civilians fleeing to Turkey, Kurdish fighters have been defending the Kurdish town of Kobane on the Syrian side of the border.

The US-led coalition of about 40 countries, including Arab states, has vowed to destroy IS which controls large parts of north-eastern Syria and northern Iraq.

The group's brutal tactics, including mass killings, beheadings, and abductions of members of religious and ethnic minorities, triggered the international intervention.

IS and Al-Nusra Front have been rivals despite sharing radical Islamist beliefs.

By Bonareri Nyamoita

Source: BBC News Africa