The Raqqah Revolutionaries Brigade is said to have more than 750 fighters in its ranks. The size of the God’s Victory Brigade, which announced its merger with the Al Nusrah Front on Facebook, was not disclosed, but it is said to have “15 battalions.” Battalions often have anywhere from dozens to hundreds of fighters.

The two brigades were part of the Free Syrian Army as recently as Sept. 9. The Raqqah Revolutionaries Brigade and the God’s Victory Brigade, along with two other FSA brigades, formed the Raqqah Military Council over the summer, purportedly as part of an effort to counter al Qaeda’s influence in the province, Allvoices reported two weeks ago.

Before the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, al Qaeda’s other official affiliate in Syria, clashed with another unit belonging to the FSA’s Raqqah Military Council in July, the head of the council said that “[t]here is no conflict between the military council and any other armed group: Neither the Nusra Front nor the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham,” Allvoices reported.