Insight - U.S.-led strikes pressure al Qaeda's Syria group to join with Islamic State

Militants stand next to vehicles carrying dozens of held Fijian U.N. peacekeepers before their release, near a U.N. base in Syria September 11, 2014. REUTERS/Hamad Almakt

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, the Nusra Front, is facing mounting pressure from its own members to reconcile with its rival Islamic State and confront a common enemy after U.S.-led air strikes hit both groups this week.

But that move would require pledging loyalty to Islamic State, which has declared a caliphate in territory it controls in Iraq and Syria, which would effectively put an end to the Nusra Front, fighters in the group say.