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.
Al-Nusra Front, also known as Front for the Conquest of the Levant, was a Sunni jihadist organization fighting 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-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.
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.
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.
Junud al-Sham, sometimes also called Jund al-Sham, is a group of Chechen Sunni mujahideen that fight in the Syrian Civil War and were led by Muslim Abu Walid al Shishani until his death in 2021. Abu Turab al-Shishani as deputy leader has led the group since.
The Khorasan group, sometimes known simply as Khorasan, was an alleged group of senior al-Qaeda members operating in Syria. The group is reported to consist of a small number of fighters who are all on terrorist watchlists, and coordinates with al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda's official affiliate in Syria. At an intelligence gathering in Washington, D.C., on 18 September 2014, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper stated that "in terms of threat to the homeland, Khorasan may pose as much of a danger as ISIS."
Samir Hijazi, known as Abu Humam al-Shami or Faruq al-Suri, is a Syrian militant and soldier who was the military chief of al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate al-Nusra Front. He became the head of the Hurras al-Din in February 2018, though he was replaced by Khalid al-Aruri.
The October 2016 Idlib Governorate clashes are violent confrontations between the Salafist jihadist group Jund al-Aqsa and the Salafist Syrian rebel group the Ahrar al-Sham, supported by several other rebel groups. The two groups were previously allied during the 2016 Hama offensive, but sporadic clashes also occurred time by time.
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.
Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), commonly 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 toppled the Assad regime in December 2024, and now controls most of the country.
Abu Omar al-Turkistani was a high-ranking commander for several al-Qaeda-affiliated groups, such as the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU), the Al-Nusra Front and the Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria (TIP). Active as a militant since at least 2001, al-Turkistani fought in both the War in Afghanistan and the Syrian Civil War. By late 2016, he was considered to be "one of top ten leading 'jihadists' in Syria" and one of the "four most prominent leaders" of TIP. Shortly before his death, al-Turkistani helped to facilitate the merger of many Islamist rebel groups into Tahrir al-Sham. He was eventually killed by an American drone strike on 1 January 2017.
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.
The Hama offensive , code-named Oh Servants of God, Be Steadfast, was a military offensive launched by rebel groups led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) north of the city Hama, as part of the Syrian Civil War.
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.
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. Abu Humam Al-Shami announced the formation of Hurras al-Din on 27 February 2018.
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.
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.
