A month ago, major fighting broke out between the Syrian Revolutionaries Front (nationalist), Jaysh al-Mujahidin (Islamist), the Islamic Front (Salafi) and the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS; global jihadi). For the first time, there was a concerted military effort to push back against the ISIS reign of terror that has been tyrannizing the Syrian population as well as the other groups. While there were major successes in the first week, ISIS was able to recover and went on a counteroffensive. Similar to the fight between the rebels and the regime, the fight among the rebel groups has become indecisive and stalemated. The infighting illustrates that the rebels are now in an active two-front war, which could in the medium to long-term severely degrade their capabilities and resources against their original enemy, the Assad regime.
Background
While fighting continues between the Islamic Front and ISIS, it is a lot more complex than reported in the media; though, as the fighting heads into a second month, positions are becoming hardened (more on this below). Further, the bulk of the anti-ISIS fighting has been conducted by the Syrian Revolutionaries Front and Jaysh al-Mujahidin. While it appears that there is a unified backlash against ISIS, there are two different dynamics going on with the bulk of the infighting occurring between the Syrian Revolutionaries Front, in coalition with Jaysh al-Mujahidin, and ISIS. The Syrian Revolutionaries Front–Jaysh al-Mujahidin alliance is more based on differences in ideology and potentially a demonstration to outside backers that they can fight against jihadis, whereas the Islamic Front offensive is more a response to abuses perpetrated by ISIS against it along with an attempt to act as a sovereign state in liberated areas. Although in the first few days of infighting ISIS was dealt blows and kicked out of a number of areas, the group has not been defeated. In fact, it has been able to recover in spite of its isolation among the rebels.
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Category: The Islamic Front
As-Saḥāb Media presents a new audio message from al-Qā’idah's Dr. Ayman al-Ẓawāhirī: "Urgent Call to Our People in al-Shām"
Audio:
Dr. Ayman al-Ẓawāhirī — “Urgent Call to Our People in al-Shām”
Arabic Transcription:
Dr. Ayman al-Ẓawāhirī — “Urgent Call to Our People in al-Shām”
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To inquire about a translation for this audio message for a fee email: [email protected]
Check out my new ‘Policy Watch’ for the Washington Institute: "Rebels Consolidating Strength in Syria: The Islamic Front"
The recent merger of several Syrian rebel groups into the Islamic Front (IF) is one of the war’s most important developments. Although the political and military opposition has long been fragmented, the new umbrella organization brings seven groups and their combined force of 45,000-60,000 fighters under one command. It also links the fight in the north and the south. Most notably, though, it affirms the troubles Washington will have setting policy in Syria going forward.
WHO ARE THEY?
Formally announced on November 22, the IF includes groups from three prior umbrella organizations: the Syrian Islamic Front (SIF), the Syrian Islamic Liberation Front (SILF), and the Kurdish Islamic Front (KIF). From the SIF, Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya (HASI), Kataib Ansar al-Sham, and Liwa al-Haqq joined, as did the KIF as a whole and former SILF brigades Suqur al-Sham, Liwa al-Tawhid, and Jaish al-Islam. None of these groups has been designated by the U.S. government as a foreign terrorist organization.
Although these groups previously kept their individual names under the SIF and SILF, they will no longer do so under the IF, though it may take time to phase out the original names. This was confirmed the same day as the IF announcement, when SIF leader Hassan Aboud put out a directive dissolving his organization.
The IF’s leadership positions have already been distributed among five of the seven groups:
- Shura Council leader: Suqur al-Sham’s Abu Issa al-Sheikh
- Deputy Shura Council leader: Liwa al-Tawhid’s Abu Amr Zaydan Hajji al-Hiraytan
- Chief of the Political Office: HASI’s Hassan Aboud
- Chief of the Sharia Office: HASI’s Abu al-Abbas al-Shami
- Chief of Military Operations: Jaish al-Islam’s Zahran Aloush
- Secretary-General: Liwa al-Haqq’s Sheikh Abu Ratib
Although HASI — likely the largest group — did not take the top leadership role, its control over the Political and Sharia Offices will give it important say over key issues.
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New article from Dr. Iyād Qunaybī: "On the Islamic Front"
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