subgroup

[Odessa Dawn]

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"Activist networks and local residents have made up the difference as best they can. But Rifai, a volunteer for the organization Watan ("Nation"), a subgroup of the opposition Syrian National Council, says that ongoing clashes in the region have become a danger to aid workers."
More: Winter Is Coming - By David Kenner | Foreign Policy

I checked Wikipedia, but I couldn’t understand what is meant by subgroup because I am a poor reader. Do we mean by subgroup that it works under another group or directs by group? By the way, we have subhuman. Can we put them in same category?
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[SoothingDave]

The Syrian Nation Council is one group. Some of its members are in a subgroup "Nation".

Like the even numbers (2,4,6,8) are a subgroup of the set of all numbers.

All members of the Nation are in the Syrian National Council. Not all members of the Syrian National Council are in Nation.

 

[SlickVic9000]

(Not a Teacher)

An entity that is composed of several distinct, smaller groups can be said to have 'subgroups'.