Category: Syria

In recent weeks, the State Department has formally designated Huras al-Din (Guardians of Religion) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and placed “Rewards for Justice” bounties on three of its leaders. The group (hereinafter HD) is al-Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, a role it assumed after Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) publicly distanced itself from its original parent organization. Meanwhile, senior HD figure Abu Khaled al-Muhandis (aka Suhayb) was killed in late August, the victim of an improvised explosive device planted by rival Islamists.

Given these developments, it is important to look beyond HD’s ideological differences with HTS and explore what its members are actually doing in northwest Syria, the country’s remaining bastion for jihadist groups. If the Assad regime and its allies decide to make further incursions into Idlib province or retake it entirely, HD could be well placed to take advantage. By framing such developments as proof that its rivals have failed—the Islamic State in trying to monopolize territory, and HTS in trying to deepen local roots and establish a modus vivendi with Turkey—HD could convince more jihadists to join its ranks and help it lead a future insurgency in north Syria.

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