ISIS and Al-Qa’ida Talk Unity

According to Iraqi Vice-President Ayad Allawi, representatives of the heads of ISIS and Al-Qa’ida have begun talks to see if the two terrorist groups can join forces. The Islamic State is headed by Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi and Al-Qa’ida by Ayman Al-Zawahiri. Allawi did not offer any suggestions of what an alliance might look like if the two organizations born of the same lineage decided to cooperate. ISIS was originally a franchise of Al-Qa’ida, with a mandate to operate in Iraq while the Al-Nusra Front operated in Syria. They went their separate ways in 2014 and since that time have been in competition for support, funding and recruitment of fighters. News of possible unification come as the international force that includes the United States makes progress in re-claiming land ISIS has won during the past two years.