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Many of these smaller factions, including independent jihadist groups like Ansar al-Islam and Ansar al-Tawhid, actively participated in the latest offensive, which highlights their potential vested interest in shaping the future of the new Syria.

Ansar Dine was one of several Islamist militant groups to exploit an ethnic Tuareg uprising to take over cities in northern Mali.

Prosecutors said al-Hassan ag Abdoul Aziz ag Mohamed ag Mahmoud led a "reign of terror" in the city after it was overrun in 2012 by the al-Qaeda-linked Ansar Dine group.

The TTP said an account run by Ansar Allah, known as the Houthis, had also seemingly paid for its blue check mark.

The Houthis, formally known as Ansar Allah, or "Partisans of God", have professed themselves to have joined the Gaza war on the side of Hamas.