Al-Nusra Front

al-Nusra Front
جَبْهَةُ النُّصْرَةِ
Flag of Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (July 2016–January 2017)
Leaders	Abu Mohammad al-Julani (top emir)[1] Abu Abdullah al-Shami (senior member) Ahmad Salama Mabruk † (senior member) Abu Hajer al-Homsi † (top military commander)[2] Abu Omar al-Turkistani † (top military commander)[3]
Dates of operation	23 January 2012[4] – 28 January 2017[5]
Group(s)	See al-Nusra member groups
Headquarters	Deir ez-Zor, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, (2012–14)[6][7] Harem, Idlib Governorate, (February–November 2014)[8] Salqin, Idlib Governorate, (November 2014 – March 2015)[9] Idlib, Idlib Governorate, Syria (March 2015 – January 2017)[10]
Active regions	Syria (Primarily in Northwest Syria, around the Idlib and Aleppo Provinces)  Lebanon[11](2013-2017)
Ideology	Salafism Wahhabism[12][13] Salafist jihadism[14][15] (a form of Islamic fundamentalism[16])
Part of	al-Qaeda Mujahideen Shura Council (2014–present)[17] Army of Conquest (2015–17)[18]
Allies	State allies  Qatar[19][20] Non-state allies  Ahrar al-Sham (until 2017)[21] Jund al-Aqsa Turkistan Islamic Party Caucasus Emirate Ajnad al-Kavkaz[22] Malhama Tactical[23][24][25] Ashida'a Mujahideen Brigade[26] Ansar al-Din Front[27] Ansar al-Islam[28] Free Syrian Army (2012-13)[29][30] Islamic State of Iraq (2012 –2013)
Opponents	State opponents  Syria  Lebanon  Iran  Russia  Iraq Non-state opponents Syrian Democratic Forces People's Protection Units Army of Revolutionaries Free Syrian Army (present) Ahrar al-Sham Suqour al-Sham Brigade Shi'ite groups Hezbollah[31] Kata'ib Hezbollah Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq Al-Abbas brigade Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada[32] Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba[33]  Ansarallah[34] Islamic State and Islamic State affiliates Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant[35] Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade[36] Jaysh al-Jihad [37] Islamic Muthanna Movement
Battles and wars	Syrian Civil War Battle of Aleppo (2012–16) Siege of Nubl and Al-Zahraa Operation al-Shabah 2013 Latakia offensive[27] Inter-rebel conflict during the Syrian Civil War 2014 Idlib offensive al-Nusra Front–Syria Revolutionaries Front conflict[38] 2015 Idlib offensive Second Battle of Idlib[18] Siege of al-Fu'ah and Kafriya Battle of Bosra (2015)[39] 2015 Jisr al-Shughur offensive Battle of Yarmouk Camp (2015) Qalamoun offensive (May 2015) Battle of Zabadani (2015) 2015 Hama Offensive Northern Aleppo offensive (2016) Idlib Governorate clashes (2017) Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon Battle of Arsal (2014) Military intervention against ISIL American-led intervention in Syria Russian military intervention in Syria

al-Nusra Front or Jabhat al-Nusra (Arabic: جَبْهَةُ النُّصْرَةِ), known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (Arabic: جَبْهَةُ فَتْحِ الشَّامِ) is one of the organizations fighting in the Syrian Civil War. Since July 2016, it has also been known as Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (Arabic: جَبْهَةُ فَتْحِ الشَّامِ, transliteration: Jabhat Fataḥ al-Šām). It has also been called al-Qaeda in Syria or al-Qaeda in the Levant.^[42][43] They are a Salafist organization and want to create an Islamic state in the country.^[44]

The group announced its formation on 23 January 2012.^[45] The United States designated Jabhat al-Nusra as a foreign terrorist organization, followed by the United Nations Security Council and many other countries.^[46] It was the official Syrian branch of al-Qaeda until July 2016, when it became a separate organization.^[47][48] In early 2015, the group became one of the major components of the powerful jihadist joint operations room named the Army of Conquest, which took over large territories in Northwestern Syria. It also operates in neighbouring Lebanon.^[49] In November 2012, The Washington Post described al-Nusra as the most successful arm of the rebel forces.^[50]

In July 2016, al-Nusra formally separated from al-Qaeda and re-branded as Jabhat Fateh al-Sham ("Front for the Conquest of the Levant").^[47]

On 28 January 2017, following violent clashes with Ahrar al-Sham and other rebel groups, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham merged with four other groups to become Tahrir al-Sham.

According to spokesmen of a moderate wing of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), in November 2012 Nusra had between 6,000 and 10,000 fighters, which was 7–9% of the FSA's total fighters.^[50] Commentator David Ignatius for The Washington Post described Nusra then as the most aggressive and successful arm of the FSA.^[50] The United States Department of State stated likewise: "From the reports we get from the doctors, most of the injured and dead FSA are Jabhat al-Nusra, due to their courage and [the fact they are] always at the front line".^[50] On 10 December 2012, the U.S. designated Nusra a foreign terrorist organization and an alias of Al Qaeda in Iraq. That decision made it illegal for Americans to deal financially with Nusra. Days earlier, the American ambassador to Syria, R. Ford, had said: "Extremist groups like Jabhat al-Nusra are a problem, an obstacle to finding the political solution that Syria's going to need".^[51]

1. ↑ "TIME Exclusive: Meet the Islamist Militants Fighting Alongside Syria's Rebels". Time. 26 July 2012. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
2. ↑ "Air strike kills top commander of former Nusra group in Syria". Reuters. 9 September 2016. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
3. ↑ Caleb Weiss (14 February 2017). "Uighur jihadist fought in Afghanistan, killed in Syria". Long War Journal. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
4. ↑ "Interview with Official of Jabhat al-Nusra, Syria's Islamist Militia Group". Time. 25 December 2012. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
5. ↑ "Syria Islamist factions, including former al Qaeda branch, join forces - statement". Thomson Reuters Foundation. 28 January 2017. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
6. ↑ "Syria: ISIS tightens grip, Nusra takes losses". Al-Monitor. 2 May 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
7. ↑ Abdallah Suleiman Ali (12 February 2014). "ISIS losing ground in Syria to Jabhat al-Nusra". Al-Monitor. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
8. ↑ Nick Paton Walsh and Laura Smith-Spark (6 November 2014). "Report: Airstrikes target another Islamist group in Syria". CNN. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
9. ↑ "Syria's Qaeda leader killed in explosion". ARA News. Archived from the original on 8 March 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
10. ↑ "An internal struggle: Al Qaeda's Syrian affiliate is grappling with its identity". Brookings Institution. 31 May 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
11. ↑ "Al Nusra Front claims Lebanon suicide attack". Al Jazeera. 11 January 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
12. ↑ Ghanmi, Elyès; Punzet, Agnieszka (11 June 2013). "The involvement of Salafism/Wahhabism in the support and supply of arms to rebel groups around the world" (PDF). European Parliament.
13. ↑ Hudson, Valerie (30 June 2015). The Hillary Doctrine. Columbia University. p. 154. ISBN 978-0-231-53910-4. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
14. ↑ "Jabhat al-Nusra". Australian National Security. 28 June 2013. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
15. ↑ "Jabhat al-Nusra, A Strategic Briefing" (PDF). Quilliam Foundation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 March 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
16. ↑ "Al-Nusra Front". 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
17. ↑ "New Syrian jihadist body formed to fight ISIS". Al Monitor. 28 May 2014. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
18. ↑ ^{18.0 18.1} "Rebels launch full-on assault of Idlib city". Syria Direct. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
19. ↑ Nawaf Obaid (15 August 2018). "Trump Will Regret Changing His Mind About Qatar". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
20. ↑ "Qatar 'maybe' supported al-Qaeda in Syria, says former PM". Middle East Eye. 30 October 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
21. ↑ "Ahrar ash-Sham: Die »syrischen Taliban«". Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) (in German). Retrieved 13 January 2024.
22. ↑ "Abu Bakr Shishani Now Fighting Alongside Ajnad al-Kavkaz In Latakia". 9 February 2016. Archived from the original on 5 June 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
23. ↑ "Malhama Tactical, The Fanatics Tactical Guru! - The Firearm Blog". 12 December 2016.
24. ↑ "Malhama Tactical (@MalhamaT) - Twitter".^{[non-primary source needed]}
25. ↑ "Malhama Tactical" – via YouTube.
26. ↑ "Izat Savetheplanet on Twitter". Retrieved 24 November 2016.^{[non-primary source needed]}
27. ↑ ^{27.0 27.1} "Former Guantanamo detainee killed while leading jihadist group in Syria". Long War Journal. 4 April 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
28. ↑ Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi (11 May 2014). "Key Updates on Iraq's Sunni Insurgent Groups". Brown Moses Blog. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
29. ↑ Free Syrian Army commander praises Al Nusrah Front as ‘brothers’ | FDD's Long War Journal
30. ↑ من هي جبهة النصرة الجهادية التي تقاتل مع الجيش السوري الحر؟
31. ↑ Mortada, Radwan (19 May 2014). "Hezbollah fighters and the "jihadis" Mad, drugged, homicidal, and hungry". al-Akhbar English. Archived from the original on 7 July 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
32. ↑ FSI | CISAC | MAPPINGMILITANTS CISAC - MMP: Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada
33. ↑ VIDEO: Hezbollah Al-Nujaba Kills 23 Al-Nusra Militants in Syria’s Khan Touman
34. ↑ "Clashes between the Houthis and Jabhat al-Nusra... in Yemen". Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
35. ↑ "Jabhat al-Nusra launches war against IS in Qalamoun". CNN. 15 May 2015. Archived from the original on 14 May 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
36. ↑ "Jabhat al-Nusra, IS clash in Daraa". 16 December 2014. Archived from the original on 26 January 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
37. ↑ "Rebels fight ISIS-linked group near Israeli-occupied Golan". Agence France-Presse. 28 April 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
38. ↑ "Al-Qaeda defeats Syrian moderate rebels in Idlib". ARA News. 2 November 2014. Archived from the original on 30 October 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
39. ↑ "Jabhat al-Nusra looks for battlefield breakout". As-Safir. 29 March 2015. Archived from the original on 31 March 2015. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
40. ↑ "Syria crisis: Spooked by rebel gains, Jordan doubles down on Islamic State". The Christian Science Monitor. 4 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
41. ↑ "Why De Mistura's Needs To Step Down". OGN News. 7 October 2016. Archived from the original on 6 May 2017. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
42. ↑ "Al-Qaeda Upgrades Its Presence in Syria". MEMRI. 25 November 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
43. ↑ "Academic paper: Al Qaeda in the Levant and the civil war in Syria".
44. ↑ "Jabhat al-Nusra A Strategic Briefing" (PDF). Quilliam Foundation. 8 January 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
45. ↑ "Islamist group claims Syria bombs 'to avenge Sunnis'". Al Arabiya. 21 March 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
46. ↑ "Terrorist Designations of the al-Nusrah Front as an Alias for al-Qa'ida in Iraq". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
47. ↑ ^{47.0 47.1} "Syrian Nusra Front announces split from al-Qaeda". 28 July 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
48. ↑ "Zawahiri disbands main Qaeda faction in Syria". GlobalPost. 8 November 2013. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
49. ↑ Al Qaeda-linked group Al Nusra Front claims deadly car bombing in Lebanese capital Beirut ABC, 21 January 2014
50. ↑ ^{50.0 50.1 50.2 50.3} Ignatius, David (30 November 2012). "Al-Qaeda affiliate playing larger role in Syria rebellion". The Washington Post. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
51. ↑ "U.S. Places Militant Syrian Rebel Group on List of Terrorist Organizations". The New York Times. 10 December 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2015.