POLITICO- Formerly known as Liwa al-Islam, the group was later renamed to Jaysh al-Islam in 2013 when Liwa al-Islam joined the Islamic Coalition—a political group that opposed the Assad regime. It aims to replace the Assad government with a Syria that is based on Islamic law. Jaysh al-Islam’s central mission is to “fight Assad and [refuse] ISIS’s takfiri mentality.

” The Jaysh al-Islam, or Army of Islam, coalition is centered in the Damascus area and eastern Ghouta, with over 10-15,000 members, making it the largest rebel faction in the eastern Ghouta area. Jaysh al-Islam differs from al-Qaeda and ISIS—groups Jaysh al-Islam considers deviations from and a danger to Islam—in that Jaysh-al-Islam does not call for eliminating western presence in the Middle East or creating a single Islamic state. The group’s founder.

Zahran Aloush, recruited many of its members and expanded its arsenal of military equipment. Aloush was assassinated by the Syrian military in a 2015 airstrike. The group is now headed by Essam al-Buwaydhani. (Sources: BBC News, Center for International Security and Cooperation, OFAC, Deutsche Welle)

Failaq al-Rahman

Founded in 2013, Failaq al-Rahman (or al-Rahman Legion or al-Rahman Corps) includes over 9,000 fighters. The organization describes itself as “a revolutionary military entity aiming for the downfall of the Syrian regime,” but it does not seek to turn Syria into an Islamic state. The group’s military commander.

Abdul-Nasser Shmeir, is a former captain of the Syrian army. The group is said to have been allied with Turkey, Qatar, and HTS against Jaysh al-Islam in eastern Ghouta It is also connected to the Free Syrian Army, one of the biggest rebel coalitions formed at the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011.

The group is well-resourced as it produces its own weaponry in primitive factories. The group is also taking part in the peace talks in Geneva and Astana. (Sources: BBC News, Deutsche Welle, Associated Press)

Ahrar al-Sham

The Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya, better known as Ahrar al-Sham, aims to also form an Islamic state in Syria based on sharia. A Sunni Salafist militant group and HTS’s main rival, Ahrar al-Sham emerged in 2011 following the outbreak of the Syrian revolution. The group is estimated to have over 25,000 fighters.

Although Ahrar al-Sham officials tried to brand the group as moderate, in 2016, Ahrar al-Sham commander Abu Yahya al-Hamawi expressed his desire to expand ties to the Nusra Front as part of an effort to “re-empower Islam.” Ahrar al-Sham is known for pioneering the use of IEDs as a tool of insurgency as well as targeting military bases to capture weapons such as mobile artillery and anti-guided missiles.

Ahrar al-Sham broke ties with ISIS following Baghdadi’s opposition to reconciliation efforts between Syrian Sunni militant groups.  According to analysts at Stanford’s Center for International Security and Cooperation.

given the impact of Ahrar al-Sham’s attacks, the organization has allegedly received money from donors in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey to counter Syrian government forces. (Sources: Deutsche Welle, Washington Post, Middle East Monitor, Mapping Militant Organizations at Staford, Deutsche Welle)

Ahrar al-Sham has formed three prominent umbrella organizations—the Syrian Islamic Front (SIF), the Islamic Front, and Jaysh al-Fatah—and often absorbs smaller groups when organizations begin to lose support. Ahrar al-Sham formed its first umbrella organization, the SIF, in December 2012 in order to unite Syrian Islamic opposition forces and pursue a Syrian government that implements Shariah law. (Sources: Mapping Militant Organizations, Long War Journal)

Hurras al-Din

Hurras al-Din (HaD or Guardians of the Religion) is a U.S. Specially Designated Terrorist Organization and an HTS splinter group that is widely believed to be al-Qaeda’s new affiliate in Syria. HaD is largely made up of HTS defectors. Founded in February 2018, HaD is led by Khaled al-Aruri (a.k.a. Abu al-Qasim al-Urduni) and shura council members Samir Hijazi (a.k.a. Abu Hamam al-Shami or Faruq al-Suri).

Sami al-Uraydi (a.k.a. Abu Mahmud al-Sham), Bilal Khuraysat (a.k.a. Abu Hudhayfah al-Urduni), Faraj Ahmad Nanaa, and Abu Abd al-Karim al-Masri. Its founding statement urged “the fighting factions in al-Sham to stop fighting among themselves and save the tent of Muslims.” Following the plea, over sixteen factions joined HaD. HaD claims to have carried out over 200 attacks since its inception. (Sources: Federal Register, BBC News, Washington Institute)

HaD further strengthened its military capacity by establishing different fighting alliances. Included among the alliances are: Hilf Nusrat al-Islam which was founded in April of 2018 and Wa-Hardh al-Muminin Operations Room in October of 2018. Further alliances include Jabhat Ansar al-Din and Jamaat Ansar al-Islam—two al-Qaeda aligned groups. (Sources: BBC News, Washington Institute)

HaD dedicates a significant amount of time in spreading its ideology throughout Idlib. Along with a clerical establishment, HaD has also established a “Committee for Commanding Right and Forbidding Wrong.” Activities of the committee include conducting hisba patrols (moral policing). Additionally.

funds for military activities locally and online as part of their “Jahizuna Campaign.” The funds are used for weaponry—particularly AK-47s, bullets, rocket-propelled grenades—food, fuel, and medical treatment for wounded fighters. The campaign began in May of 2019 and provided supporters with designated Telegram and WhatsApp accounts that detailed how to send funds to the campaign. (Source: Washington Institute)

Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba

Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba is a U.S. sanctioned, radical Iraqi Shiite militia group that operates under the leadership of the Iran’s IRGC – Quds Force. The group is led by Secretary General Akram al-Kaabi, and is estimated to have over 10,000 fighters. The movement is loyal to Iran.

helping create a supply route through Iraq to Damascus. Kaabi was also a former leading figure in Asaib Ahl al-Haq (AAH) and was designated by the U.S. government as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in March of 2019. Kaabi left AAH in 2012, and with support from Iran, founded Nujaba to mobilize Iraqi militants into Syria.

eventually becoming one of the largest Iraqi contingents in the country. Kaabi is said to have been close to Major General Qasem Soleimani, the former leader of the Quds Force, Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary General of Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a specially designated global terrorist who directed Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces until his death in January 2020. In 2014.

when ISIS began to take over parts of Southeast Syria near the border of Iraq and Jordan, Nujaba further legitimized its status as a forceful militia as they managed to swiftly deploy troops between Syria and Iraq to undermine the insurgency. Along with its campaign to deter the presence of Sunni jihadists, Nujaba has mostly shifted its focus on subverting Israeli presence throughout the Golan Heights. (Sources: Reuters, Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Long War Journal, National, Middle East Institute)

Palestinian Islamic Jihad

Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) is a U.S.-designated, Iran-sponsored Palestinian terrorist organization based in the Gaza Strip. The group has carried out numerous suicide bombings and rocket attacks against Israel. PIJ’s leadership has operated from Syria since 1989, when they relocated from Lebanon after Israel expelled them a year earlier. According to the U.S.

State Department, PIJ’s senior leadership continues to reside primarily in Syria, though most PIJ members live in Gaza. International Arabic-language newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported in 2012 that PIJ’s Syria-based leadership had relocated to Iran but continued to enjoy positive ties with their Syrian patrons.

However, a PIJ official denied that report, claiming “relations between [PIJ] and the Syrian government are excellent, unlike Hamas,” whose leadership left Syria after refusing to support the Assad regime during the Syrian civil war. Official representatives of the group are also stationed elsewhere in the Middle East, including Iran. (Sources: U.S. Department of State, Asharq Al-Awsat, Al-Monitor, Tasnim News Agency)

Israel has carried out multiple strikes in Syria targeting PIJ infrastructure and its leadership there. On October 5, 2003, for example, Israel bombed a PIJ training camp in Syria in retaliation for a PIJ suicide bombing in Haifa, Israel, that killed 21 people the day before. On February 23, 2020.

Israel killed two PIJ members during air raids on PIJ training facilities and weapons depots in Damascus in response to PIJ rocket fire on Israel from Gaza. PIJ launched dozens of rockets from Gaza toward Israel in response to the Syrian strike. (Sources: Fox News, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Al Jazeera, BBC News