Just one day after Hassan Abboud and several top leaders of the Islamic Front were killed in a blast, the Islamic Front identified a new emir for Ahrar al Sham, one of its brigades. Abboud served as the head of the Islamic Front’s political office and the emir of Ahrar al Sham, an al Qaeda ally in Syria. Abboud and other Islamic Front leaders killed in the blast were mourned by several top al Qaeda leaders in Syria. And the Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, officially eulogized the Islamic Front leaders.
The Islamic Front identified Sheikh Hashim al Sheikh, who is also known as Abu Jaber, as the emir of Ahrar al Sham in two announcements on its Twitter page.
Sheikh Hashim al-Sheikh known as Abu Jaber, the new emir (leader) of Ahrar Al-Sham Islamic Movement pic.twitter.com/SzsxYAuO1L
— Islamic Front En (@IslamicFront_En) September 10, 2014
According to a biography of Abu Jaber, he fought in the ranks of the Al Fajr Islamic Movement and later led the Musab Bin Umayr Battalion in Aleppo.
A brief biography of Abu Jaber the new head of Ahrar Al-Sham Islamic Movement pic.twitter.com/oZWPMJpBYn
— Islamic Front En (@IslamicFront_En) September 10, 2014
Abu Jaber’s path to lead one of the more radical Islamist groups in Syria serves as a cautionary tale for the US as it seeks allies in the Free Syrian Army to battle the Islamic State. Both the Al Fajr Islamic Movement and the Musab Bin Umayr Battalion were previously units in the Free Syrian Army. Al Fajr Islamic Movement fought under the command of the Al Nusrah Front and alongside the Chechen-led Muhajireen Army in November 2012, shortly before joining Ahrar al Sham.
To this day, even US-vetted Syrian rebel groups such as Harakat Hazm fight alongside the Al Nusrah Front.
