The nearby rebel-held town of Moadamiyat al-Sham also came under government bombardment and there was fighting in Douma, north-east of Damascus.

BBC: Syria: Fierce clashes in provincial capital Raqqa

But other Salafist groups, such as Jabhat an-Nusra (Salvation Front) and Ahrar al-Sham (the Liberation of Greater Syria), are less tolerant.

ECONOMIST: The war for Syria: Jihadists on the way | The

In Serjeh, a village perched on a hill overlooking olive trees rooted in earth the colour of terracotta, the bulky, uniformed men of Suqur al-Sham (Falcons of Syria) strike a sterner tone.

ECONOMIST: Syria??s rebels