How Other Terrorist Organizations Could Benefit From ISIS' Loss Of Raqqa
NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Ali Soufan, former FBI terrorism investigator, and author of the book Anatomy of Terror. They discuss reports that Al-Qaida is actively recruiting ISIS fighters. MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST: For four years, the Islamic State used the Syrian city of Raqqa as its base, a de facto capital. Now, that changed this week. And among the many questions raised by the fall of Raqqa is this one. Might other terror groups profit from the Islamic State's loss? Specifically, does al-Qaida stand to gain? We've called on Ali Soufan to take on that one. Soufan investigated al-Qaida attacks back in his FBI days, and he's author of the book "Anatomy Of Terror." Ali Soufan, welcome to the show. ALI SOUFAN: Thank you. KELLY: Start with the relationship between al-Qaida and ISIS, which is complicated. How do they view each other these days - as rivals, as enemies, as frenemies, what? SOUFAN: Well, they are mostly rivals, and