Al-Nusra Front, also known as Front for the Conquest of the Levant, was a Salafi-jihadist organization that fought against Syrian government forces in the Syrian Civil War. Its aim was to overthrow president Bashar al-Assad and establish an Islamic state ruled by Sharia law in Syria.
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.
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.
Kata'ib Ansar al-Sham is an armed Sunni Islamist rebel group active in the Syrian Civil War, mainly fighting against Syrian government forces.
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.
Jabhat Ansar al-Din is a jihadist alliance that announced itself on 25 July 2014, during the Syrian Civil War. The alliance contains two groups: Harakat Sham al-Islam and Harakat Fajr ash-Sham al-Islamiya; it had declared that was not affiliated with any other "parties". The Green Battalion was originally a signatory, but around October 2014, it swore allegiance to the leader of Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar and was integrated into that faction. The alliance had attempted to maintain neutrality in the conflict between ISIL and other groups. On 28 January 2017, it joined with numerous other factions to form Tahrir al-Sham, though portions of it left HTS in February 2018.
The 13th Division was a Syrian rebel group sanctioned by the Syrian National Council. It was among the first armed Syrian opposition groups to receive U.S.-made BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missiles. According to a spokesperson for the FSA's Supreme Military Council, the 13th Division was funded by sources within Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
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, military commander and politician 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 led to the downfall of the Assad regime and establishment of the Syrian transitional government. Since then, al-Sharaa has been widely regarded 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.
On 13 March 2016, jihadist fighters from Al-Nusra Front and Jund al-Aqsa launched an overnight attack against the Free Syrian Army's 13th Division headquarters in the town of Ma'arrat al-Nu'man. According to social media activists in support of the Syrian opposition, Jabhat al-Nusra attacked Division 13 over local protesters and demonstrations.
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.
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.
Tanzim Hurras al-Din, sometimes referred to as Al-Qaeda in Syria, is a Salafi Jihadist organization fighting in the Syrian civil war. The group's former head, Abu Humam al-Shami, was the general military commander of the defunct Al-Nusra Front, and had fought for Al-Qaeda during the Third Afghan Civil War and the Iraqi insurgency. Hurras al-Din was established by the leaders of the AQ-affiliated Khorasan group and Al-Qaeda loyalists of Al-Nusra Front who opposed Al-Nusra's dissolution and merger with other Islamic groups to form Tahrir al-Sham. Al-Shami announced the formation of Hurras al-Din on 27 February 2018.
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.
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.
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.
Omar Diaby, also known by his nom-de-guerreOmar Omsen (1976-) and by the media as the "Super Jihadist", is a Franco-Senegalese jihadist and YouTuber who was active in Nice, France before fighting and later commanding the militant group Firqat al-Ghuraba in Syria. Diaby is considered to have recruited approximately 80% of French-speaking jihadists fighting in the Middle East.
Jabhat al-Nusra [1] 
Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria (Unknown-Unknown)
Ansar al-Tawhid [2] 
Guardians of Religion Organization 
Syria 
Russia 
United States 
Syrian Salvation Government [3] 
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (Sometimes) [4]