BEIRUT: Radical jihadists began withdrawing from parts of northern Syria on Friday after a threat from rivals, in a bid to protect their stronghold in the east of the war-ravaged country.

Al Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front has threatened the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant with all-out war if it does not submit by Saturday to mediation by an Islamic court over allegations ISIL assassinated an Islamist commander with close Al Qaeda links.

Since January, ISIL has been battling a coalition of moderate and Islamist rebels angered over its abuses of rival fighters and civilians, but Al-Nusra had largely stayed out of the fray.

The prospect of the powerful Al-Nusra joining forces with ISIL's opponents appears to have prompted the group to pull back to its stronghold in the eastern city of Raqa, the only provincial capital lost by the regime in the three-year civil war.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said ISIL had withdrawn from a string of positions in northern Aleppo province, including the key town of Aazaz.

“ISIL has withdrawn from Aazaz, its most important bastion in Aleppo province, as well as the Minnigh military airport, the Mayer region and the villages of Deir Jamal and Kafin,” the Britain-based Observatory said.

Aleppo ISIL's 'weakest link’: “Aleppo region is their weakest link, so they fear being attacked there” by Al-Nusra and other rebels after the deadline expires, Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said.

“ISIL is heading to areas that neighbour Raqa province where it has its main stronghold in the city of Raqa,” he said.

ISIL fighters had regrouped in particular in Jarabulus and Manbij, on the far eastern border of Aleppo province and close to Raqa.

In the wake of the withdrawal from Aazaz, which ISIL seized in September, the Observatory said a possible mass grave was found in the city.

The withdrawal was confirmed by the opposition Aazaz Media Centre, which claimed it as a victory for rival rebel fighters.

“God is greatest. The heros of the Free Syrian Army and the Northern Storm (Brigade) have liberated the town of Aazaz from the dogs of Baghdadi,” the centre wrote on its Facebook page, referring to ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Video footage posted online showed a demonstration of local residents chanting “the Free Syrian Army forever” after ISIL's withdrawal.

Jewel in ISIL crown: Charles Lister, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Center, said ISIL appeared to have withdrawn from several locations without a fight.

“It looks like ISIL has made the strategic decision to reinforce existing strongholds in eastern Aleppo, all of which lie on valuable routes towards the jewel in ISIL's crown, the city of Raqa,” he said.

“Removing these weak areas and reinforcing important and stronger ones seems like the only logical strategy left for ISIL at this stage.”

On Tuesday, Al-Nusra issued a threat against ISIL after the death of a senior Islamist commander, Abu Khaled al-Suri, who had close ties to Al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri and his predecessor Osama bin Laden.

Rebels accuse ISIL of killing the commander, and Al-Nusra chief Abu Mohamed al-Jolani warned the group would be pushed out of Syria if it refused arbitration before an Islamic court.

Lister said a major offensive against ISIL could seriously affect the opposition's ability to hold territory against the regime, and that casualties in such an offensive would be high.

“As such, a compromise or a series of localised compromises could still be possible, but this would depend on ISIL playing diplomacy, which isn't necessarily a proven strength.” Both Al-Nusra and ISIL have roots in Al Qaeda's onetime Iraqi affiliate, the Islamic State of Iraq.—AFP