For Assad defeating al-Qaeda and its allies, rather than ISIS, is a top priority: ISIS is a “marionette”.

By Elijah J. Magnier @ejmalrai

Many speculations have been voiced concerning the reasons why Russia, Syria, Iran and the “Hezbollah” Lebanon attack mainly but not exclusively al-Qaeda fi bilad al-Shan (Jabhat al-Nusra) and its allies among the Syrian opposition rather than attacking the so-called “Islamic state” group, also known as “ISIS”, “ISIL”, “IS” or “Daesh”. For years, numerous Middle Eastern analysts and other academics consciously believed that a sort of “alliance exists between Assad and ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi”. This sort of ignorance in Middle Eastern dynamic emanates from a long lasting “conspiracy theory” that managed to affect prestigious media and research publications worldwide.

Nonetheless, the Syrian Army’ command, and now its allies, has avoided clashing with ISIS in many occasions, when unnecessary, on several fronts. In few words, ISIS is…