Report: Al-Qaeda Affiliate Joins Forces With Islamic State to Battle U.S.-Backed Rebels

A recent report indicates that an al-Qaeda affiliate and the Islamic State have agreed to form an allegiance and battle U.S.-backed rebels in Syria.

The Associated Press reported Thursday that the newly formed allegiance combines two of the world's most toxic terrorism groups: the Islamic State and the al-Qaeda affiliate based in Syria, the al-Nusra Front.

The U.S. has agreed to arm rebels in the country so they may effectively fight the Islamic State, but the allegiance of two terrorist organizations may prove to be a bigger burden to the rebels.

Along with al-Nusra's agreement to join the Islamic State, another al-Qaeda affiliate based in Egypt has also vowed allegiance to the growing terrorist organization. The Egyptian militant group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis announced its allegiance to the Islamic State on Twitter this week.

"I'm sending a message to our people in Egypt, what are you waiting for? Your honor was violated and the blood of your sons was shed at the hands of this tyrant and his soldiers," the statement reads, reportedly referencing the bloody ousting of former President Mohamed Morsi.

According to The Washington Times, a House Armed Services Committee this week suggested that the Obama administration is considering sending combat troops into Iraq to maintain the growing Islamic State.

Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, told lawmakers at the meeting that the administration may be considering a modest number of ground combat troops to subdue the growing unrest in Syria and Iraq.