 | |
| Available in | Arabic, English, Turkish [1] |
|---|---|
| Founder(s) | Hayat Tahrir al-Sham |
| URL | ebaa-agency |
| Launched | March 2017 |
| Current status | Inactive |
The Ebaa News Agency is a media outlet linked to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and reports on events surrounding the group, and the civil administration linked to the group, the Syrian Salvation Government. [2] [3]
The Ebaa News Agency was created in March 2017 and has been described as mirroring ISIL's media such as the Amaq News Agency, with summaries and reports on the group's activities such as attacks and military operations, making it effective for the group's branding and advertising. The agency is also considered a descendant of al-Nusra's own media apparatus that functioned similar to both Amaq and Ebaa, with correspondents and having a detached nature from the group. [4]
Ebaa News Agency also covers events related to the HTS linked Syrian Salvation Government and maintains a weekly magazine that was launched in June 2018 with articles and opinion pieces. [5] Along with a weekly magazine, summaries of events related to HTS, the Ebaa News Agency also publishes infographics and statistics relating to HTS' exploits and operations. [6] The Ebaa News Agency also publishes video footage of combat, HTS policing activities in areas under its control including executions, and displays of equipment captured by HTS. [7]
In February 2018, Ebaa News Agency published photographs of several pieces of captured equipment by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham from Ahrar al-Sham after the former took control of the latter's base during the Syrian Liberation Front–Tahrir al-Sham conflict, the display included photos of self-propelled artillery, tanks and APCs belonging to Ahrar al-Sham, HTS claimed via the Ebaa News Agency to have captured 20 tanks, 4 technicals and several artillery pieces. [8]
In April 2018, Ebaa News Agency published footage of HTS fighters engaged in combat against ISIL in the Yarmouk Camp, a suburb in southern Damascus, the footage included point-of-view shots from HTS fighters with helmet cameras, Ebaa also released photos of a tunnel dug by ISIL with captions saying "network of tunnels dug by the Kharijites", and also claimed that HTS expelled ISIL from the area took full control of the tunnels dug by the group. [9]
In June 2018, the Ebaa News Agency announced that HTS had arrested Saad al-Hunayti, a Jordanian scholar and friend of the Jihadist ideologue and cleric Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, who had traveled to Syria in 2014 to mediate tensions between ISIL and al-Nusra, and later joined ISIL due to a lack of implementation of Sharia by al-Nusra, [10] until fleeing back to rebel held areas after a series of defeats by ISIL, he was arrested on the grounds of being affiliated with ISIL and allegedly orchestrating assassinations in Idlib. News of his arrest was condemned by Maqdisi and he demanded that HTS release Hunayti. [11] [12] [13]
On 29 December 2018, Ebaa News Agency published a statement in favor the Taliban's peace talks with the United States, saying that the talks were necessary in order for the United States with withdraw from Afghanistan, and that the Taliban has the advantage. [14]
In July 2019, the Ebaa News Agency in its weekly magazine published an article saying taking selfies was a security risk, because the photos could contain metadata such was location, the model of the phone used and the time the photo as taken. The article also published information explaining how to reduce these risks such as turning off settings and getting apps that remove this information. [15]
Saraqib is a city in northwestern Syria, administratively belonging to the Idlib Governorate, located east of Idlib. During the course of the Syrian Civil War, the city fell to rebel forces in 2012 and was recaptured by the Syrian Army in 2020. The city was captured by the Syrian Salvation Government during the 2024 Northwestern Syria offensive.
Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya, commonly referred to as Ahrar al-Sham, is a coalition of multiple Islamist units that coalesced into a single brigade and later a division in order to fight against the Syrian Government led by Bashar al-Assad during the Syrian Civil War. Ahrar al-Sham was led by Hassan Aboud until his death in 2014. In July 2013, Ahrar al-Sham had 10,000 to 20,000 fighters, which at the time made it the second most powerful unit fighting against al-Assad, after the Free Syrian Army. It was the principal organization operating under the umbrella of the Syrian Islamic Front and was a major component of the Islamic Front. With an estimated 20,000 fighters in 2015, Ahrar al-Sham became the largest rebel group in Syria after the Free Syrian Army became less powerful. Ahrar al-Sham and Jaysh al-Islam are the main rebel groups supported by Turkey. On 18 February 2018, Ahrar al-Sham merged with the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement to form the Syrian Liberation Front.
The inter-rebel conflict during the Syrian Civil War has continued throughout the Syrian Civil War as factions of the Syrian opposition and Free Syrian Army have fought each other, with shifting alliances among various Islamist factions such as Al-Nusra Front, Ahrar al-Sham, Jaysh al-Islam and the Islamic Front.
Liwa al-Haqq, is a Syrian Islamist rebel group that was active during the Syrian Civil War until joining Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in 2017.
Jund al-Aqsa, later known as Liwa al-Aqsa after 7 February 2017, was a Salafist jihadist organization that was active during the Syrian Civil War. Formerly known as Sarayat al-Quds, the group was founded by Abu Abdul 'Aziz al-Qatari as a subunit within the al-Nusra Front. The group later became independent, because al-Nusra was growing too rapidly for its resources and had suffered from fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. On 20 September 2016 the U.S. Department of State designated Jund al-Aqsa as a terrorist organization. The group rejoined al-Nusra Front, by then renamed Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (JFS), in October 2016. However, on 23 January 2017, JFS declared that Jund Al-Aqsa was no longer part of Jabhat Fateh Al-Sham. In early February 2017, some of Jund al-Aqsa's units joined the newly formed Tahrir al-Sham, while the others refused and formed a new splinter group called Liwa al-Aqsa, and captured many towns in northern Hama and southern Idlib from other rebel groups. Following these attacks, Tahrir al-Sham launched a military operation against Liwa al-Aqsa, accusing them of being an ISIL affiliate. Following intense clashes with Tahrir al-Sham, up to 2,100 Liwa al-Aqsa militants left Idlib Province to join ISIL in Raqqa Province, by 22 February 2017.
The Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement was a Sunni Islamist rebel group involved in the Syrian Civil War. In 2014, it was reportedly one of the most influential factions in Aleppo, especially the Western Aleppo countryside. Between 2014 and 2015, it was part of the Syrian Revolutionary Command Council and recipient of U.S.-made BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missiles. The Movement made multiple attempts to merge with the larger Islamist rebel group Ahrar al-Sham but were refused by Ahrar al-Sham's leadership. The Zenki Movement also made attempts to merge with other Islamist factions, Jaysh al-Islam and the Sham Legion. However, all merging efforts with these groups failed, leading to the Zenki Movement joining the Salafi Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in 2017. But after a few months the group left HTS and within a year went to war with HTS by joining the Turkish-backed Syrian Liberation Front alongside Ahrar al-Sham on 18 February 2018. After a series of clashes in early 2019 Al Zenki were largely defeated by HTS, expelled to Afrin and absorbed in the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army.
Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa, also known by his nom de guerreAbu Mohammad al-Julani, is a Syrian revolutionary militant who has served as the emir of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) since 2017. As the leader of HTS, he played a key role in the 2024 Syrian opposition offensives, which ultimately led to the overthrow of the Assad regime. Numerous sources have described him as Syria's de facto leader.
The Ajnad al-Sham was an independent Idlib and Hama-based rebel group active during the Syrian Civil War. The group is named after Ajnad al-Sham. It joined the Army of Conquest on 24 March 2015 and took part in the Second Battle of Idlib. On 29 March 2014, it announced that its military leader, Abu Abdullah Taoum, was killed during clashes around al-Fouaa.
Sami Mahmud Mohammed al-Oraydi or Abu Mahmoud al-Shami is a senior sharia official for the al-Qaeda affiliated Hurras al-Din who was the chief religious authority for al-Nusra Front and the group's former second-in-command.
The Idlib Governorate clashes , were military confrontations between Syrian rebel factions led by Ahrar al-Sham and their allies on one side and the al-Qaeda-aligned Jabhat Fatah al-Sham and their allies on the other. After 7 February, the clashes also included Jund al-Aqsa as a third belligerent, which had re-branded itself as Liwa al-Aqsa and was attacking the other combatants. The battles were fought in the Idlib Governorate and the western countryside of the Aleppo Governorate.
Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), also referred to as Tahrir al-Sham, is a Sunni Islamist political and paramilitary organisation involved in the Syrian civil war. It was formed on 28 January 2017 as a merger between several armed factions: Jaysh al-Ahrar, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (JFS), Ansar al-Din Front, Jaysh al-Sunna, Liwa al-Haqq, and the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement. The unification process was held under the initiative of Abu Jaber Shaykh, an Islamist militant commander who had been the second emir of Ahrar al-Sham. HTS, along with other Syrian opposition groups, launched an offensive and toppled the Assad regime on 8 December 2024, and now controls most of the country.
Hashim al-Shaykh, also known by his nom de guerreAbu Jaber Shaykh is a Syrian rebel commander who is a senior leader of Tahrir al-Sham. He had reportedly resigned from his position in Ahrar al-Sham where he served as a senior commander to help command and direct the merger. Abu Jaber is a Salafist Muslim with a jihadist ideology, which is reflected in the ideology of the group he leads.
The Idlib Governorate clashes were a series of military confrontations between Ahrar al-Sham and Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). During the clashes, Tahrir al-Sham attempted to capture the Bab al-Hawa Border Crossing, causing concern for Turkey, which prefers Ahrar al-Sham to be in control of the crossing. As a result of the clashes, HTS took control of Idlib city, the Bab al-Hawa Border Crossing, and most of the areas along the Turkish border in the Idlib Province.
The northwestern Syria campaign was a large-scale military operation that initially started with an offensive conducted by ISIL forces on areas controlled by Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in the northern Hama Governorate. Subsequently, the Syrian Armed Forces launched their own offensive against HTS and other rebel groups in the area. The campaign took place at the intersection of the provinces of Hama, Idlib and Aleppo.
On 19 February 2018, heavy clashes erupted between the newly established Syrian Liberation Front, which consists of Ahrar al-Sham and the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement, backed by the Suqour al-Sham Brigades, and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in the western Aleppo Governorate. The conflict soon spread to the Idlib Governorate and the SLF captured several towns from HTS. A ceasefire between the two groups was reached on 24 April 2018. Fighting again resumed on 1 January 2019, ending with a total HTS military victory on 9 January.
Jaysh al-Ahrar, is an armed Salafi Islamist rebel group in northwestern Syria that originated as a clique composed of 16 units in Ahrar al-Sham that opposed involvement in Operation Euphrates Shield, after a fatwa was released by religious clerics in Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, which led to the group's separation from Ahrar al-Sham.
Ansar al-Tawhid is an armed Islamist group fighting in the Syrian Civil War. The group is made up of former Jund al-Aqsa members. It was allied with Al-Qaeda and part of the Hurras al-Din-led Rouse the Believers Operations Room until May 2020, when it announced its departure from the coalition.
Insurgency in Idlib was an insurgency in the regions Idlib Governorate between multiple factions. The conflict is primarily between the supporters of Syrian Salvation Government and forces loyal to Syrian Arab Republic. Other factions participating in insurgency range from the Syrian opposition forces in the Syrian National Army supported by Turkey; to supporters of Al-Qaeda branch Hurras al-Din and members of the Islamic State group. The insurgency has been marked by assassinations and bombings, as well as armed confrontations with small arms and raids.
Firqat al-Ghuraba is an active jihadist group aligned with al-Qaeda based in opposition held areas in the Idlib Governorate in northwestern Syria. The group mostly consists of foreign fighters from Europe with many, including the group's leader, originating from France and Belgium. The group is also believed to have sworn allegiance to al-Qaeda.
The Tahrir al-Sham–Junud al-Sham conflict was a series of violent clashes between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and several rival jihadist factions operating in the Idlib and Latakia governorates. The clashes began on 25 October 2021 after HTS demanded that the jihadist leader Muslim al-Shishani should stand trial after they accused him and his group of sheltering members of the Islamic State.
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