Fatah al-Islam | |
---|---|
فتح الإسلام | |
Leaders | Shaker al-Abssi † Abu Mohamad Awad[1] † Abu Hussam al Shami[2] † |
Dates of operation | 2006–present |
Headquarters | Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian Refugee Camp Nahr al-Bared Palestinian Refugee Camp (former) |
Active regions | Lebanon Syria |
Ideology | Sunni Islamism Sunni Jihadism Anti-Zionism |
Size | ~200 |
Allies | Al-Qaeda Jund al-Sham Osbat al-Nour Al-Shabab Al-Muslim |
Opponents | Lebanese Armed Forces Syrian Armed Forces Fatah al-Intifada[3] |
Battles and wars | 2007 Lebanon conflict Syrian Civil War |
Designated as a terrorist group by | Lebanon[4] Syria[5] United Arab Emirates[6] |
Fatah al-Islam (Arabic: فتح الإسلام, meaning: Conquest of Islam) is a Sunni Islamist militant group established in November 2006 in a Palestinian refugee camp, located in Lebanon.[8] It has been described as a militant jihadist[9] movement that draws inspiration from al-Qaeda.[9][10][11] It became well known in 2007 after engaging in combat against the Lebanese Army in the Nahr al-Bared UNRWA Palestinian refugee camp. Following its defeat at Nahr el-Bared, the group relocated to the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp near Sidon in 2008.[12] As of 2014, after the death or capture of many members, most of the surviving members of Fatah al-Islam are thought to have joined other groups in Lebanon and Syria including the Free Syrian Army, Al-Nusra Front, Ahrar al-Sham, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.[12]
The United States Department of State classified the group as a terrorist organization on 9 August 2007[13] but it was not classified as such anymore on 24 November 2010.[14]
IHT_20070315
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).