-
Profiles of commanders in the new Syrian army’s regional divisions
On January 29, Syria’s new leadership announced the dissolution of the Assad regime’s Syrian Arab Army, followed by appointing militia leaders from the civil war to key military positions. FDD’s Long War Journal has identified and profiled several of these figures.
-
Profiles of the new Syrian military leadership, part 2
Beginning on Friday, January 3, the newly appointed minister of defense of the Syrian Interim Government, Murhef Abu Qasra, initiated a series of meetings with leaders of armed factions to discuss integrating these forces into a unified Syrian army. FDD’s Long War Journal has identified and profiled the majority of those in attendance.
-
Analysis: Who will form the core of Jolani’s unified army?
Abu Mohammad al Jolani, leader of Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), has announced plans to dissolve existing factions and form a unified national army under centralized control in post-Assad Syria. The question is: who will constitute the core of this new national army?
-
Analysis: Who liberated Damascus? Unpacking the Southern Operations Room’s emergence
The Southern Operations Room, a coalition of armed groups active in southern Syria, was the first to enter Damascus, forcing Bashar al-Assad to flee. Although not formally affiliated with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the coalition’s shifting allegiances over previous years have heightened uncertainty regarding the situation in post-Assad Syria.
-
Analysis: The budding insurgency in southern Syria
Yesterday, a low-quality video depicting an IED attack on a regime checkpoint in southern Syria was uploaded to the internet. A relatively unknown group, the Popular Resistance, claimed credit within the video itself. While this small outfit has claimed a series of sporadic attacks since its inception last fall, it nonetheless represents a budding insurgency in Syria’s southern areas. The efforts of the group, or other popup organizations, are a good indicator of what’s to come in a post-regime ‘victory’ Syria. Following the Assad regime’s recapture of the southern provinces of Deraa and Quneitra last summer, tensions have remained high…
-
State Department designates 2 Canadian citizens for joining jihadist groups
The State Department announced yesterday that two Canadian citizens have been added to the US government’s list designated terrorists. Tarek Sakr has been “linked” to al Qaeda’s “affiliate” in Syria and Farah Mohamed Shirdon is a member of the Islamic State. According to press reports, jihadists associated with Sakr are suspected of playing a role in the kidnappings of two Americans in Syria.
-
Analysis: Syria policy must reflect the complex reality on the ground
The policy debate concerning Syria must reflect on-the-ground realities. The war is a complex, multi-sided affair with no easy solutions.
-
Analysis: Insurgents launch major offensive against Assad regime in Hama province
Jihadists, Islamists and rebel groups affiliated with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) launched a new offensive against Bashar al Assad’s regime in northern Hama province earlier this week. Hay’at Tahrir al Sham, al Qaeda’s joint venture in Syria, is playing a prominent role in the fighting, dispatching several suicide bombers and its “special forces.” Upwards of 10 or more FSA-branded groups are participating as well.
-
Insurgents launch new offensive in outskirts of Damascus
Hay’at Tahrir al Sham (HTS), Ahrar al Sham, and the Free Syrian Army-affiliated Faylaq al Rahman launched a surprise offensive against Bashar al Assad’s regime in Damascus yesterday. HTS, an al Qaeda front group, has been stepping up its attacks in the Syrian capital in recent weeks.
-
Turkey is on a collision course with the Syrian regime and its backers
As each side converges on the Islamic State-held city of al-Bab, a military confrontation between Turkish-led rebels and pro-regime forces appear inescapable. In the meantime, tensions between Ankara and Moscow are rising yet again, risking pulling the United States and NATO further into the Syrian theater.
-
Jihadists and other rebels launch new offensive in Aleppo
Al Qaeda’s rebranded guerrilla army in Syria is fighting alongside other jihadists, Islamists and Free Syrian Army-branded rebels in an offensive intended to break the Assad regime’s siege of Aleppo. Most of the participating groups belong to two coalitions: Jaysh al Fath (“Army of Conquest”) and Fatah Halab (“Aleppo Conquest”). These same two alliances tried and failed to break the siege earlier this year.
-
Jund al Aqsa uses drone to drop small bomb on Syrian regime forces
Jund al Aqsa, an al Qaeda front group, is playing a major role in the rebel offensive in Hama province. The group released a video earlier today showing one of its drones dropping a small, unguided bomb on Syrian regime forces. Jund al Aqsa has endorsed Al Nusrah Front’s relaunch as Jabhat Fath al Sham (“Conquest of the Levant Front”), saying that al Qaeda’s senior leadership must have determined that it was in the best interests of the people and the jihad in Syria.
-
Jihadists and other rebels claim to have broken through siege of Aleppo
More than 20 jihadist, Islamist and other rebel organizations took part in the offensive to break the siege of Aleppo. It was likely one of the largest combined efforts in the history of the Syrian war.
-
Jihadists and other rebels attack Syrian regime positions in Latakia province
Jaysh al Fateh, a jihadist-led coalition that includes al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, and various groups affiliated with the Free Syrian Army have launched a new offensive on government-held positions in the Latakia province. The assault has been named the “Battle of Yarmouk.”
-
Aleppo-based rebel groups reportedly unite behind Ahrar al Sham’s former top leader
Several rebel groups in Syria’s Aleppo province have united under the leadership of Hashem al Sheikh, who was the emir of Ahrar al Sham from September 2014 to September 2015. The alliance doesn’t include Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, but its constituents will almost certainly continue to cooperate with al Qaeda’s men.
-
Al Nusrah Front, Free Syrian Army battle Assad regime for UN Hill in southern Syria
The Free Syrian Army’s Southern Front, Al Nusrah Front and Ahrar al Sham all claimed to have captured the so-called UN Hill from the Assad regime earlier today. The Southern Front previously rejected collaboration with Al Nusrah Front.
-
Islamic State claims gains in Aleppo province during chaotic fight
The Islamic State has issued a statement claiming to have captured several key towns north of the city of Aleppo. The group’s campaign in Aleppo province had stalled until Russia began targeting some of its opposition, including Free Syrian Army units.
-
Islamic State suffers losses in provincial home of the ‘caliphate’
Kurdish forces and fighters from the Free Syrian Army have seized a military base and a town just 30 miles north of the city of Raqqa, which is the seat of the Islamic State’s so-called “caliphate.” The losses are problematic for the Islamic State, which claims that its territorial rule is “remaining and expanding.”
-
Islamic State continues to clash with multiple foes in Aleppo, Hasakah
Several al Qaeda ideologues have issued a fatwa saying it is “compulsory” to fight the Islamic State in Aleppo. The edict was issued after the Islamic State seized towns and villages from other rebel groups in the province.
-
Jordan closes border crossing as rebels, Al Nusrah Front advance
Fighters from the Free Syrian Army, the Al Nusrah Front, Ahrar al Sham, Jaysh al Islam and other groups overran the Nasib border crossing between Syria and Jordan. The anti-Assad forces have made gains in southern Syrian in recent weeks.
-
Al Nusrah Front, Western-backed rebels overrun key regime base south of Damascus
The Al Nusrah Front and Ahrar al Sham fought side-by-side with Western-backed rebels in a battle to take a key Assad regime base in southern Syria.
-
Free Syrian Army
Turkey Bans Publication of Reports on Syria Arms Delivery
/assets/images/featured-image-default.jpg)
-
Al Nusrah Front
Jihadi militants in Lebanon establishing ‘Islamic State of Qalamoun’ near Ersal
-
Islamic State uses US-made anti-tank missile near Damascus
In images released from the Damascus countryside, the Islamic State showcases its use of an American-made antitank missile on elements of the US-backed Free Syrian Army.
-
Al Nusrah Front
The Child Soldiers Who Escaped Islamic State
-
Free Syrian Army
Syrian authorities halt ferries to Turkey
-
Al Nusrah Front
Al Nusrah Front and rivals clash in Deraa and Qalamoun
-
Al Nusrah Front
ISIS to launch battle for Lebanese town of Ersal
-
Al Nusrah Front, Ahrar al Sham advance in northwestern Syria
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.
-
Al Nusrah Front uses American-made anti-tank missile in 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.
