The Jaysh al Fateh coalition, which is led by jihadist groups, has launched a counteroffensive against Bashar al Assad’s regime and its allies in the southern part of the Aleppo province. Leading member groups in the alliance, including Al Nusrah Front and Ahrar al Sham, claim to have captured several towns and villages.
Jund al Aqsa, an al Qaeda front group, claims to have seized all or parts of Morek, a key town that sits on a major highway connecting Aleppo and Hama. In October, Jund al Aqsa broke with the Jaysh al Fateh coalition, which was co-founded by Al Nusrah Front, but the organization remains loyal to al Qaeda.
The Al Nusrah Front, Ahrar al Sham, Jund al Aqsa, and the Turkistan Islamic Party have launched significant operations targeting two Shiite villages in the Idlib province of Syria. Their attacks are a response to the siege of Zabadani, a southern Syrian city, by Bashar al Assad’s regime and its allies.
Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, claims to have overrun the Abu Duhour airbase in Idlib. Al Nusrah also says that more than 100 of Bashar al Assad’s fighters were killed and an additional 60 or so captured during the fighting.
The jihadist group continues to have a significant role in the Jaysh al Fatah coalition and the wider Idlib offensive.
The Jaysh al Fateh alliance claims to have captured several villages in the Al Ghab plain in recent days.
The Jaysh al Fateh coalition, which includes the Al Nusrah Front, Ahrar al Sham, and other allied-organizations, has launched a new offensive targeting the Al Ghab plain. The alliance claims to have already made significant gains.
Jihadist groups have announced the creation of Ansar al Sharia, a new alliance for the battle of Aleppo. Ansar al Sharia is the latest of several coalitions formed by the Al Nusrah Front and Ahrar al Sham this year.
With victory over Assad’s forces at the military camp, the al Qaeda-led coalition continues to overrun regime positions in Idlib province.
In a video recorded prior to his death, a jihadist known as Abu Hafs al Masri explained that he served al Qaeda for 17 years and had lived with Osama bin Laden and other al Qaeda leaders. Al Masri was a senior leader in Ahrar al Sham in Syria when he was “martyred” in late March.
In a tweet last month, Jund al Aqsa, an al Qaeda-linked jihadist group in Syria, identified Adel Radi Saker al Wahabi al Harbi as its fallen military commander. Al Harbi was wanted by the US government, had previously served as the deputy leader of al Qaeda’s Iran network, and was a member of al Qaeda’s so-called “Khorasan Group.”
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb’s emir, Abdulmalek Droukdel, has released an audio message praising the head of the Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, for working with other Islamist and jihadist groups to capture the city of Idlib.
Abu Muhammad al Julani, the leader of the Al Nusrah Front, said the jihadist coalition that took control of Idlib should remain united. He also stated that the jihadists should avoid “terrorizing” the people in order to build more popular support.
The Jaysh al Fateh coalition has captured the city of Idlib, or much of it. Propaganda photos posted online show jihadist groups, including the Al Nusrah Front, controlling government buildings and key facilities.
Photos and videos posted on social media show that Jaysh al Fateh, a coalition of several jihadist groups, has captured a number of Syrian regime checkpoints surrounding the city of Idlib.
The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, and its allies have formed a coalition of groups to go on the offensive in Idlib. One of the coalition’s first propaganda videos features Al Nusrah fighters firing an American-made TOW missile on a Syrian regime target.
Four of the crew are reported to have been captured with a fifth being executed on the spot. The fate of the sixth crew member remains unknown. No official statement has come from the Al Nusrah Front but the chopper went down in a Nusrah stronghold of Idlib province.
The Hazm Movement was once touted as a moderate Syrian rebel group that the US could work with to counter the Islamic State in Syria. In the past, the rebel group allied with the Al Nusrah Front and other jihadist movements.
The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, backed by Jund al Aqsa, Ahrar al Sham, and several other groups, has launched an offensive on two major regime bases in the northwestern province of Idlib.
The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, has used a BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missile in the recent assault on Wadi al Daif in the Idlib countryside.
The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s branch in Syria, has released pictures and a video showcasing a large military parade in the northwestern province of Idlib.
The Al Nusrah Front has forced the leader of the Western-backed Syrian Revolutionaries’ Front, Jamal Maarouf, to flee his base of operations in Idlib.
The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, has captured several towns and villages in the countryside of Idlib. The territory was controlled by the Syrian Revolutionaries Front (SRF), which has been allied with Al Nusrah despite being part of the Free Syrian Army.
The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, has released an English-language pamphlet highlighting its activities throughout the month of August. The publication focuses on the group’s military operations, including targeting Assad’s forces and Hezbollah fighters, as well as its social work.
Recent infighting between the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham and other Islamist groups, including the Al Nusrah Front, has not yet risen to an all-out confrontation.
A new video praising Hithem Ziad Ibrahim Masshal, a well-known jihadist in the Gaza Strip, was released by the Ibn Taymiyyah Media Center to jihadist forums. Masshal, who was killed in April by the Israeli Air Force, is celebrated for his role in supporting jihadist groups in Gaza.
A coalition of Qaeda-linked jihadist groups in northwestern Syria detail their recent operations.
The video offers more visual confirmation of Hezbollah’s capabilities for armed commercial drones.
Hay’at Tahrir al Sham (HTS), a coalition that includes the group formerly known as Al Nusrah Front, launched a campaign against alleged Islamic State operatives in the Idlib province earlier today. HTS has repeatedly accused Abu Bakr al Baghdadi’s men of forming cells to attack their jihadist rivals in HTS and allied groups.
Sheikh Abdallah Muhammad al Muhaysini, a leading cleric in Hay’at Tahrir al Sham, claims that a suicide bomber tried to kill him outside of a mosque in Idlib, Syria earlier today.