Eyewitness: ‘They fought in Iraq and want to blow up any symbol of the state’

ABU Bakr, a Syrian rebel commander on the outskirts of Aleppo, is a dedicated Islamist determined to overthrow president Bashar al-Assad. But the radical allies that have joined the rebels in recent months alarm even him.

“Let me be clear. I am an Islamist, my fighters are Islamists. But there is more than one type of Islamist,” he says. “These men coming fought in insurgencies like Iraq. They are too extreme, they want to blow up any symbol of the state, even schools.”

Seventeen months into the uprising against Mr Assad, Syria’s rebels are grateful for the support of Islamist fighters from around the region. They bring weapons, money, expertise and determination to the fight. But some worry that when the battle against Mr Assad is over they may discover their allies – including fighters from the Gulf, Libya, Eastern Europe or as far as the Pakistan-Afghanistan border area – have different aims than most Syrians.

“Our goal is to make a new future, not destroy everything,” Abu Bakr said, sighing as he thumbed his prayer beads. “As bloody as it is now, this stage is simple. We all have the same cause: topple the regime. When Bashar falls, we may find a new battlefront against our former allies.”

Abu Bakr and his comrades say they envision Syria as a conservative version of Turkey’s moderate Islamist rule, not a theocracy. They are unnerved by a recent kidnapping of foreign journalists and attacks on state infrastructure.

Western powers have watched the signs of an increasing presence of foreign Sunni Islamist fighters in Syria. They fear a repeat of the mass sectarian slaughter that followed the US invasion of Iraq. Sunni Islamist suicide bombers affiliated to al-Qaeda there are still targeting security forces and Shiites in large-scale bomb attacks.

Some fighters who have come to Syria are idealists who believe in jihad, or holy war, for oppressed Muslims, and would probably return home in a post-Assad era. But others are al-Qaeda-linked fighters who may want a base in Syria. Their numbers are still low, but enough to worry countries fearing Iraq-style bloodshed in Syria, a country straddling the lines of most ethnic and regional conflicts in the Middle East.

Mr Bakr says right now there is no choice but to allow foreign fighters. The fighters have brought in rocket propelled grenades and boxes of home-made explosives. And wherever you find improvised explosive devices, you’re likely to find foreign fighters, explains a rebel called Mohammed in another local unit.

“They brought a lot of bomb making experience from the insurgency in Iraq. With their help, our bombs have 3-7 kilometre detonation range. Now, we can even set them off by mobile phone,” he said.