Category Archives: Syrian Insurgency
A Wave of Assassinations Hits Idlib
By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 5 May 2018
Syrians being deported from East Ghuta after the regime conquest, 15 March 2018 // Credit Louai Beshara, Agence France-Presse
There has been an unprecedented wave of assassinations, and assassination attempts, in Idlib, beginning on 26 April and lasting about two days, targeting mainstream, Free Syrian Army-branded rebels, opposition activists, and journalists, as well as Islamist and jihadist insurgents.
This entry was posted in Syria, Syrian Insurgency and tagged Abdallah al-Muhaysini, Ahrar al-Sham, al-Hizb al-Islami al-Turkistani, assassinations, Bashar al-Assad, China, Faylaq al-Sham, Greater Idlib, Harakat Nooradeen al-Zengi, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, Idlib, Jabhat Tahrir al-Suriya, Jaysh al-Malahim, Jaysh al-Mulahem, jihadism, Jund al-Malahim, Kataib Nour al-Din al-Zinki, Rebels, Russia, Turkey, Turkistan Islamic Party, Uyghurs on May 5, 2018 by KyleWOrton.
Insurgents Respond to America Declaring Syrian Taliban Unit A Terrorist Group
By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 25 March 2018
Katibat al-Imam al-Bukhari (image source)
The United States Department of State designated Katibat al-Imam al-Bukhari (KIB), the Taliban-loyal insurgent unit in Syria, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) on 22 March. Over the last few days, KIB and other insurgent groups have issued statements in response. Continue reading →
This entry was posted in Islamic Militancy, Jihadi Output, Syria, Syrian Insurgency and tagged Ahrar al-Sham, al-Qaeda, Bashar al-Assad, Free Syrian Army, FSA, Harakat Nooradeen al-Zengi, Hassan Soufan, Hassan Sufan, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, Hibatullah Akhundzada, HTS, Imam Bukhari Jamaat, ISIS, Islamic State, Jabhat al-Nusra, Jabhat Tahrir al-Suriya, Jihadi-Salafism, JTS, Kataib Nour al-Din al-Zinki, Katibat al-Imam al-Bukhari, Syria, Syrian Liberation Front, Taliban, terrorism on March 25, 2018 by KyleWOrton.
The Continuing Syrian Efforts to Resist Jihadism
Opposition protests against Jabhat al-Nusra, Marat al-Numan, March 2016
A recording was leaked on 28 November of a Syrian cleric, Abdul Halim al-Atwan, giving a lecture to Syrians in Idlib, condemning the current leader of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the descendant of al-Qaeda's Syrian branch Jabhat al-Nusra, for having distorted and destroyed the Syrian rebellion by infecting it with extremism and intra-insurgent fighting. Al-Atwan, the uncle of HTS leading shar'i Abdurraheem Atun (Abu Abdallah al-Shami), notes that al-Nusra intruded into Syria as a wing of the Islamic State in 2011. This is only a small demonstration of the continued resistance among Syria's armed opposition to being co-opted by the HTS jihadists. Continue reading →
This entry was posted in Syria, Syrian Insurgency, Syrian Rebel Output and tagged Abd al-Rahim Atoun, Abd al-Rahim Atun, Abdul Raheem Atoun, Abdurraheem Atun, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, Abu Muhammad al-Jolani, Ahmad al-Shara, Ahmad Husayn al-Shara, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, Ibrahim al-Badri, Ibrahim Awwad al-Badri al-Samarrai, ISIS, Islamic State, jihadism, Syria, Taha Falaha, Taha Subhi Falaha, terrorism on January 1, 2018 by KyleWOrton.
Al-Qaeda Reshapes the Insurgency in Northern Syria
By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on February 7, 2017
Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham logo
A series of clashes broke out on 19 January between al-Qaeda's rebranded Syrian branch, Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (JFS), and its heretofore close ally and portal into the Syrian rebellion, Ahrar al-Sham. By 23 January, JFS had expanded its targets, engaging in hostilities with mainstream rebel groups in the "Greater Idlib" area, and specifically trying—and succeeding—in dismantling the positions of Jaysh al-Mujahideen, a moderate group, west of Aleppo. The crisis continued to escalate, forcing many groups to merge with Ahrar al-Sham for protection, until 28 January, when a JFS-led merger was announced under the banner of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), or the Syrian Liberation Committee. HTS announced a ceasefire, and since then individuals and groups—including a significant number from Ahrar—have given allegiance to HTS. This radical reshaping of revolutionary dynamics in northern Syria has undoubtedly created antibodies going forward against al-Qaeda that could be capitalized on by the international community, but the present situation is highly favourable to al-Qaeda. Continue reading →
This entry was posted in Islamic Militancy, Syria, Syrian Insurgency and tagged Abdallah al-Muhaysini, Abdul Munim al-Badawi, Abdul Rahman al-Falahi, Abdul Razzaq al-Mahdi, Abdullah al-Moheisini, Abdullah Ibn Rashid al-Baghdadi, Abdurrahman al-Qaduli, Abu Abd Ashidaa, Abu al-Abed Ashidaa, Abu Ali al-Anbari, Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, Abu Harith al-Masri, Abu Jabbar, Abu Muhammad al-Jolani, Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, Abu Muhammad al-Sadeq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, Abu Tahir al-Hamawi Abu Saleh al-Tahhan, Abu Umar al-Baghdadi, Abu Yusuf al-Hamawi, Ahmad al-Khalayleh, Ahmad al-Shara, Ahrar al-Sham, al-Jabhat al-Shamiya, al-Majlis Shura al-Mujahideen, al-Qaeda, al-Qaeda in Iraq, al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia, AQI, AQM, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Daesh, Faylaq al-Sham, Free Syrian Army, Hamid al-Zawi, Harakat Nooradeen al-Zengi, Hashem al-Shaykh, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, Hetish, HTS, Hussam Atrash, Iraq, ISI, ISIS, Islamic State, Islamic State of Iraq, Islamism, Issam al-Barqawi, Jabhat al-Nusra, Jabhat Ansar al-Din, Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, Jaysh al-Fatah, Jaysh al-Islam, Jaysh al-Mujahideen, Jaysh al-Sunna, JFS, Kataib Nour al-Din al-Zinki, Kataib Thuwar al-Sham, khawarij, Liwa al-Haq, Muharib al-Jiburi, Mujahideen Shura Council, Muslah al-Alyani, Saraya al-Ghuraba, Saraya al-Jihad, Suqour al-Sham, Syria, Syrian Islamic Council, Syrian Liberation Committee, Tajamu Fastaqim Kama Umrat, takfir, Tawfiq Shahabuddin, The Levant Front, Turkey on February 7, 2017 by KyleWOrton.
Al-Qaeda Says Attacking Syrian Rebel Groups Was Self-Defence Against A 'Conspiracy'
Ahmad al-Shara (Abu Muhammad al-Jolani)
Violence erupted between Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, the rebranded al-Qaeda branch in Syria, and Ahrar al-Sham, its long-time ally and its bridge into the Syrian rebellion, beginning on 19 January. These clashes expanded to encompass the mainstream armed opposition on 23 January. Today, al-Maqalaat, a pro-JFS outlet, published a long statement explaining the fighting from JFS's point-of-view. The salient points of the argument and other interesting elements are highlighted in bold. Continue reading →
This entry was posted in Jihadi Output, Syrian Insurgency and tagged Abdallah al-Muhaysini, Abu Amar al-Umar, Abu Muhammad al-Jolani, Ahmad al-Shara, Ahrar al-Sham, al-Bab, al-Jabhat al-Shamiya, al-Qaeda, Aleppo, Ali al-Umar, conspiracy, Division 30, East Ghouta, East Ghuta, Faylaq al-Rahman, Harakat Hazm, ISIS, Islamic State, Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, Jabhat Thuwar al-Suriya, Jaysh al-Fustat, Jaysh al-Islam, Jaysh al-Mujahideen, Jaysh al-Thuwar, Jund al-Aqsa, khawarij, Operation EUPHRATES SHIELD, PKK, Russia, Syria, Syrian Democratic Forces, Syrian Islamic Council, The Army of Revolutionaries, The Levant Front, The New Syrian Forces, The Steadfastness Movement, The Syria Revolutionaries' Front, Turkey, Zahran Alloush, Zahran Allush on January 26, 2017 by KyleWOrton.