Some rebel groups and Islamic scholars in Syria have rejected the announcement of a so-called Islamic caliphate by an increasingly powerful rival.
Nine groups, including fighters and religious scholars, have dismissed the statement by Islamic State, an al-Qaeda offshoot which declared its leader ruler of the Muslim world earlier this week after military gains in neighbouring Iraq.
The group, formerly called the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), has seized parts of eastern Syria and western Iraq but is still battling rival armed groups in Syria.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/07/syria-rebel-groups-reject-islamic-caliphate-2014711559095815.html