The Caucasus Emirate, also known as the Caucasian Emirate, Emirate of Caucasus, or Islamic Emirate of the Caucasus, was a jihadist organisation active in rebel-held parts of Syria and previously in the North Caucasus region of Russia. Its intention was to expel the Russian presence from the North Caucasus and to establish an independent Islamic emirate in the region. The Caucasus Emirate also referred to the state that the group sought to establish. The creation of Caucasus Emirate was announced on 7 October 2007, by Chechen warlord Dokka Umarov, who became its first self-declared "emir".
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-Muhajireen wal-Ansar, Brigade of Emigrants and Supporters or literally Banner of the Emigrants and Supporters), also known as Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar, formerly the Muhajireen Battalion, is a Salafi jihadist group consisting of both Arabic-speaking fighters and fighters from the North Caucasus that has been active in the Syrian Civil War against the Syrian government. The group was briefly affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in 2013, but after changes in leadership, it took an increasingly hostile stance against it. In September 2015, JMA pledged allegiance to the al-Nusra Front.
Foreign fighters have fought on all four sides of the Syrian Civil War, as well both sides of the War in Iraq. In addition to Sunni foreign fighters, Shia fighters from several countries have joined pro-government militias in Syria, leftist militants have joined Kurdish forces, and other foreign fighters have joined jihadist organizations and private military contractors recruit globally. Estimates of the total number of foreign Sunnis who have fought for the Syrian rebels over the course of the conflict range from 5,000 to over 10,000, while foreign Shia fighters numbered around 10,000 or less in 2013 rising to between 15,000 and 25,000 in 2017.
Tarkhan Tayumurazovich Batirashvili, known by his nom de guerreAbu Omar al-Shishani or Omar al-Shishani, was a Chechen-Georgian jihadist who served as a commander for the Islamic State, and was previously a sergeant in the Georgian Army.
The Ajnad al-Sham Islamic Union was an alliance of Sunni Islamist groups affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood that was active in the Rif Dimashq Governorate during the Syrian Civil War.
Kata'ib Ansar al-Sham is an armed Sunni Islamist rebel group active in the Syrian Civil War, mainly fighting against Syrian government forces.
Murad Akhmetovich Margoshvili, also known by his nom de guerre Muslim Abu Walid al Shishani, is the commander of Junud al-Sham in Syria. Al Shishani was sanctioned by the US State Department on 24 September 2014 for reportedly building a base for foreign fighters. While Margoshvili is a Georgian national, he is also a Kist, a Chechen subethnos living mostly in the Pankisi Gorge.
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.
The 23rd Division or 16th Infantry Division was a Syrian rebel group affiliated with the Free Syrian Army. Formed in September 2013, the group was active mainly in the city Aleppo and its surroundings. After rebel lines in Aleppo collapsed due to advances by the Syrian Army during the Battle of Aleppo in mid-2016, the 16th Division suffered heavy casualties and was dissolved. Remnants of the group then formed the 23rd Division. The Syrian National Army faction of the group in northern Aleppo was disbanded after its leadership was attacked by the Levant Front in August 2020, with its other members were transferred to other groups under the SNA's 3rd Legion.
Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham, commonly referred to as Tahrir al-Sham, is a Sunni Islamist political and armed organisation involved in the Syrian Civil War. It was formed on 28 January 2017 as a merger between Jaysh al-Ahrar, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (JFS), Ansar al-Din Front, Jaysh al-Sunna, Liwa al-Haqq, and Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement. The unification process was held under the initiative of Abu Jaber Shaykh, an Islamist commander who had been the second Emir of Ahrar al-Sham.
Malhama Tactical is a private military contractor operating in the Syrian Civil War. The group, founded by a pseudonymous Uzbeki jihadist called Abu Rofiq, is closely allied with Jabhat Fateh al-Sham and its successor group Tahrir al-Sham. Its around dozen members occasionally participate in combat and run guns, but primarily provide training. The company has worked with Ahrar al-Sham and the Turkistan Islamic Party. According to the pro-government Al-Masdar News, its leader Abu Rofiq was killed in an airstrike on 7 February 2017, though his death has been questioned. The group stands in opposition to ISIS.
Abdulaziz al-Mahdali, known as Abu Usamah al-Maghrebi, was a Moroccan senior military commander of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
Ajnad al-Kavkaz is a Chechen-led Salafi jihadist militant group in northwestern Syria, operating primarily in the mountainous and forested areas of Latakia Governorate. Although it was formed by former fighters of the Caucasus Emirate and was tentatively linked to the organization, AK operated autonomously from the beginning and later cut ties with the Caucasus Emirate. Though it had become "the largest of the Muslim factions from the former Soviet Union fighting in Syria" by September 2016, AK's activity dwindled in the following years. In 2022, the group's centre of operations shifted from Syria to Ukraine, as most AK militants had begun mobilizing to fight against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As of 2023, AK has largely been engaged in the Battle of Bakhmut in Ukraine.
Katibat Junud al-Makhdi is an active armed jihadist group created by a merger of two smaller groups operating in Northern Syria, composed exclusively of Tatar and Bashkir fighters mainly from Tatarstan and Bashkortostan as well as other areas in Russia with Tatar and Bashkir populations.
Chechens in Syria are ethnic Chechens who form a small minority in Syria.
Foreign fighters in the Syrian civil war have come to Syria and joined all four sides in the war. In addition to Sunni foreign fighters arriving to defend the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant or join the Syrian rebels, Shia fighters from several countries have joined pro-government militias in Syria, and leftists have become foreign fighters in the Syrian Democratic Forces.
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.
Chechen mujahideen in Syria are ethnic Chechen members of Sunni Islamist armed groups. They are organized into military factions, and take part in the civil war in Syria to fight against the government of Bashar al-Assad on the side of the Syrian opposition and Tahrir al-Sham, also on the side of the Islamic State.
Rustam Magomedovich Azhiev also known by the pseudonym Abdul Hakim al-Shishani is commander-in-chief of the Chechen battalion OBON fighting on the Ukrainian side in the Russo-Ukrainian war. Azhiev is a veteran of the Second Russo-Chechen war and fought on the side of the opposition in the Syrian civil war. In the latter he was the leader of the rebel group Ajnad al-Kavkaz.
Ahrar al-Sham [5] 
Tahrir al-Sham [1] 
Group of the One and Only [7] 
Syria 
Iran 
Russia 
Syrian Resistance 
Hezbollah 
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (2017-2018)
