A bigger common enemy is enough for two current foes to temporarily set aside their differences and agree to band together to beat that mutual problem. Such was the action taken by the Islamic State of Syria and Iraq (ISIS) and the al Qaeda which agreed to a ceasefire on Nov. 2 during a meeting in Syria.

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The two Islamic terror groups are on the opposing sides while battling to oust Syria President Bashar Assad who has been perceived by extremist organizations and western governments as overstaying and the responsible for thousands of deaths in Syria.

ISIS and al Qaeda officials met for four hours at a farm house in the northern Syrian town of Atareb, from midnight to 4 am, reports the New York Daily News, quoting a Syrian opposition official.

The official added that among those who attended the meeting were an ISIS representative, two from the Nusra Front and a delegation from the Khorasan Group made up of al Qaeda veterans from Pakistan and Afghanistan.

A large part of Syria and Iraq is held by the ISIS, while fighting for a larger area of control in the two Middle Eastern nations is the Nusra Front, an affiliate of the al Qaeda. While their alliance presents a bigger challenge to another enemy, the western powers that make up the U.S.-led Coalition, Washington officials said they do not expect the two extremist groups to merge after battling a common war.

The two groups now consider moderate armed rebels backed by the U.S.-led Coalition as their common enemy and easier to beat since these rebels are not so organized and relatively weak.

They agreed to team up in attacking part of northern Syria.

Meanwhile, Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in his assessment of the Coalition's progress in the three-month battle against the ISIS, told the House Armed Services Committee that they are mulling for American soldiers to accompany the U.S.-backed rebels in Mosul and those on the border.

TagsISIS, Al-qaeda