Syria jihadists vow revenge strikes over chemical weapons claims

BEIRUT (AFP) – Al-Qaeda-linked Syrian jihadist group Al-Nusra Front on Sunday vowed revenge strikes against villages from President Bashar al-Assad’s community over claims his forces used chemical weapons.
“The Alawite villages will pay the price for each chemical rocket that struck our people in Damascus,” Al-Nusra front chief Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani said in an audio message posted on the Internet and on his Twitter account.
Assad hails from the Alawite community, an offshoot of Shiite Islam unlike most Sunni rebel groups fighting to topple him, including Al-Nusra whose chief in March pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda.