Sunni-backed opposition forces battling to overthrow the regime of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad will soon try to eradicate Israel, according to statements made by Abed Shihadeh, a top Jordanian Salafist figure. Shihadeh, who was speaking at the funeral of a suicide bomber, went on to label the United States “the mother of all the terror in the world.” The statements deepen concerns that the Syrian opposition will be hijacked by hardline anti-American and anti-Israel Islamists, and will complicate efforts by the United States to publicly back rebel groups.