 Following the 2015 leadership dispute, many JMA militants reportedly defected to ISIL.In 2016 the group's Islamic Repentance Brigade based in Aleppo defected to ISIL.Reuters reported in early March 2015 that the al-Nusra Front had plans to unify with Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar into a new organisation, separate from al-Qaeda.