ALNUSRA FRONT 
INTRODUCTION
Al-Nusra Front or Jabhat al-Nusra is a branch of al-Qaeda operating in Syria and Lebanon. It is headed by Abu Mohammad al-Julani. This group is generally made up of native Syrian mujahedeen who adhere to Sunni Islam. Their significance lies in being the strongest supporter of Syrian rebels fighting the regime of Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian Civil War. The group has been designated as a terrorist organization by the UN, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Turkey. One of its main opponents is, however, the Islamic State. Members of the group are accused of attacking the religious beliefs of non-Sunnis in Syria, including the Alawis.
AIM
The al-Nusra Front aims to overthrow the Assad government and replace it with a Sunni Islamic state. Although the group is affiliated with al-Qaeda, it does not emphasize Western targets or global jihad and only focus on the "near enemy" of the Syrian state.
Al-Nusra believes that the fight against the Syrian regime is supported by religion and it is meant to fulfill 'God's wish' for an 'Islamic caliphate'.
MODE OF OPERATION
To achieve these objectives, Al-Nusra uses improvised explosive device, sniper and small-arms attacks, as well as kidnapping and executions, against regime security and military targets. Al-Nusra also attacks individuals and groups who are supporting the regime and has targeted urban areas, resulting in indiscriminate civilian deaths.
Al-Nusra has its own media outlet, al-Manara al-Bayda (the White Minaret), which is used to make documentary propaganda videos, often featuring car bombs and interviews with suicide bombers. Al-Nusra has issued more than 200 media statements through the White Minaret and most of these statements have been in the form of claims of responsibility for attacks.
HIERARCHY
Al-Nusra contains a hierarchy of religious bodies, with a small Majlis-a-Shura (Consultative Council) at the top, making national decisions on behalf of the group. Religious personnel also play an important role in the regional leadership, with each region having a commander and a sheikh. The sheikh supervises the commander from a religious perspective and is known as dabet al-shar'i (religious commissioner).
COMPARISON WITH THUGS
Al Nusra front rarely resemble thugs in their philosophy and strategy. Thugs and al Nusra front both are fighting for a religious cause. Both are devoted towards brining Islam but in different ways. Phansigars kill people to present them as a scarifies to their Deity but Al-Nusra practices Shariah law and aims to implement it in Syria to gain control of the government. However the core belief for both of them is to get rewarded by god. Both of these do not fear and empathize. They also do not have remorse or guilt for their actions.
Thugs used to do persecution and killing privately and never confronted whereas Al Nusra kill publically to spread terror and claim the responsibility for attack. This is because Al Nusra wants maximum supporters in order to through Bashar al-Assads rule and they witness to be terrorized.
Al Nusra uses improvised explosive device, sniper and small-arms attacks, as well as kidnapping and executions, against regime security and military targets and civilians also come under this execution. Whereas thugs target only specified individual mostly wealthy travelers and stole their property and belongings and they do so by strangling the individual for more time because strangling provides pleasure to Kali. They do not torture the individual except for strangling. Al Nusra kills without any rules whereas Thugs did not kill women, vagabonds, lurkers, mutilated and blind etc.
Thugs are trained from childhood about the concept of sacrifice and killing for the sake of Kali. However Al Nusra front adds a member who is recommended by some other member of their community and who takes an oath with leader to stay loyal to their cause.
The believers of Kali did not attack individuals from other religion or strangers but Al Nusra kills all others except for those who stand by their side in purifying Islam by removing all sects other than Sunni.
