, native_name_lang= , war=the Syrian Civil War , image=
Ansar al-Sham Logo
Flag of Ansar al-Sham , caption= , active=September 2012 – present , ideology=

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

Islamism Islamism (also often called political Islam or Islamic fundamentalism) is a political ideology which posits that modern states and regions should be reconstituted in constitutional, economic and judicial terms, in accordance with what is ...

Salafism The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a Islah, reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that originated during the nineteenth century. The name refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (), the first three g ...

Salafi jihadism Salafi jihadism or jihadist-Salafism is a transnational, hybrid religious-political ideology based on the Sunni sect of Islamism, seeking to establish a global caliphate, characterized by the advocacy for "physical" (military) jihadist and Sa ...

, leaders=Abu Omar al-Jamil
(overall leader)
Abu Musa al-Shishani
(military commander) , headquarters=

Jabal al-Akrad Jabal al-Akrad ( ar, جبل الأكراد ''Jabal al-Akrād'', ''Mountain of the Kurds'') is a rural mountainous region with an elevation that ranges from 400 to 1,000 meters above sea level, in northwestern Syria along the Syrian Coastal Moun ...

Latakia Governorate Latakia Governorate, also transliterated as Ladhakia Governorate, ( ar, مُحافظة اللاذقية / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat al-Lādhiqīyah'') is one of the 14 governorates of Syria. It is situated in western Syria, bordering Turkey's Hatay ...

, area=

Idlib Governorate Idlib Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة ادلب / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Idlib'') is one of the 14 governorates of Syria. It is situated in northwestern Syria, bordering Turkey's Hatay province to the north, Aleppo Governorate to the east, Hama ...

, size=2,500 (March 2014) , partof=

Syrian Islamic Front The Syrian Islamic Front ( ar, الجبهة الإسلامية السورية ''al-Jabhah al-Islāmiyya as-Sūriyyah''; abbreviated SIF) was an Insurgent umbrella organisation alliance of various Sunni Salafi Islamist Rebel factions against th ...

Islamic Front

Jaysh al-Islam ) , successor = , allies = * * * * * Free Syrian Army * Ahrar al-Sham *al-Rahman Legion (sometimes) *1st Brigade of Damascus (sometimes) * Al-Nusra Front (formerly) * Saraya Ahl al-Sham * Aknaf Bait al-Maqdis , opponents ...

Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) (, transliteration: ', "Organization for the Liberation of the Levant" or "Levant Liberation Committee"), commonly referred to as Tahrir al-Sham, is a Sunni Islamist political and armed organisation involved in the ...

() , predecessor= , successor= , allies=

Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA) ( ar, الجيش السوري الحر, al-jaysh as-Sūrī al-ḥur) is a loose faction in the Syrian Civil War founded on 29 July 2011 by officers of the Syrian Armed Forces with the goal of bringing down the governm ...

Junud al-Sham Junud al-Sham (''Soldiers of the Levant''), sometimes also called Jund al-Sham, is a group of Chechen and Lebanese Sunni mujahideen that fight in the Syrian Civil War and were led by Muslim Abu Walid al Shishani until his death in 2021. Abu T ...

Jund al-Aqsa Jund al-Aqsa ( ar, جند الأقصى ''Jund al-‘Aqṣā'', "Garrison of al-Aqsa"), later known as Liwa al-Aqsa after 7 February 2017, was a Salafist jihadist organization that was active during the Syrian Civil War. Formerly known as Sara ...

Sham Legion The Sham Legion ( ar, فَيْلَق الشَّام, ''Faylaq al-Shām'') is an alliance of Sunni Islamist rebel groups formed in March 2014, during the Syrian Civil War. The alliance was formed from 19 different groups, some of which were previ ...

Ajnad al-Kavkaz , war = Syrian Civil War , image = Ajnad Al-Kavkaz flag.svg , caption = Flag of Ajnad al-Kavkaz. , groups = , active = 2015–''present'' , ideology = *Sunni Islamic fundamentali ...

Ajnad ash-Sham

Jaysh al-Sunna Jaysh al-Sunna ( ar, جيش السنة) was a Homs-based Islamist rebel group that was established as a merger between different rebel groups, some of which originally came from the Free Syrian Army's Farouq Brigades, and is active during the Sy ...

(Sometimes)

Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria The Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria (TIP; ar, الحزب الإسلامي التركستاني في سوريا tr, Türkistan İslam Partisi, zh, 突厥斯坦伊斯兰党) is the Syrian branch of the Turkistan Islamic Party, an armed Uyghur ...

(Sometimes) , opponents=

Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...

Syrian Resistance The Syrian Resistance (''al-Muqāwamat al-Sūriyah'', Arabic: المقاومة السورية), formerly known as the Popular Front for the Liberation of the Sanjak of Iskandarun (Arabic: الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير لواء اسـ� ...

Syrian Social Nationalist Party The Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) or is a Syrian nationalist party operating in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine. It advocates the establishment of a Greater Syrian nation state spanning the Fertile Crescent, including present- ...

(Sometimes)

(Sometimes) , battles= Syrian Civil War *

2013 Latakia offensive The 2013 Latakia offensive, (called The Descendants of Aisha, Mother of the Believers by Salafist jihadists, and the Operation Liberation of the Coast by the Free Syrian Army and its supporters) was a campaign during the Syrian Civil War l ...

2014 Latakia offensive The 2014 Latakia offensive was a rebel offensive in the Latakia Governorate of Syria launched on 21 March 2014 by rebel Islamist groups including Al-Nusra Front, which called the offensive " Anfal", while a coalition of Supreme Military Council ...

* Inter-rebel conflict during the Syrian Civil War *

2015 Idlib offensive The 2015 Idlib offensive refers to a series of rebel operations in the Idlib Governorate, during the Syrian Civil War. The offensive started with a rebel assault on the capital of the province, Idlib. According to ''The Economist'', the capture ...

Battle of Idlib (2015) The Battle of Idlib ("Operation to Free Idlib") was a military operation in the Idlib Governorate, during the Syrian Civil War, conducted by rebels against Syrian government forces defending Idlib city. The battle On 24 March 2015, the newly ...

Northwestern Syria offensive (April–June 2015) The Northwestern Syria offensive (April–June 2015), dubbed by the rebels as the Battle of Victory, took place in the Idlib and Hama governorates during the Syrian Civil War. The campaign consisted of a three-pronged attack, with the two ma ...

Al-Ghab offensive (July–August 2015) The al-Ghab offensive (July–August 2015) was an offensive launched by rebels during the Syrian Civil War to capture areas surrounding Jisr al-Shughur, and to establish a foothold in the al-Ghab plain, in northwestern Syria's Idlib and Hama gov ...

* 2015–16 Latakia offensive *

2016 Latakia offensive The 2016 Latakia offensive, code-named Battle of Yarmouk, refers to a rebel operation launched in the northern Latakia Governorate in late June 2016. The aim of the offensive was to recapture the territory lost during the Army's offensive earli ...

Northwestern Syria offensive (April 2019–present) Northwestern or North-western or North western may refer to: * Northwest, a direction * Northwestern University, a private research university in Evanston, Illinois ** The Northwestern Wildcats, this school's intercollegiate athletic program ** No ...

, clans=al-Zahir Baybars Battalion Kata'ib Ansar al-Sham ( ar, كتائب أنصار الشام, ''Supporters of the Levant Battalions'') is an armed

Islamist rebel group active in the Syrian Civil War, mainly fighting against

Syrian government Government of the Syrian Arab Republic is the union government created by the constitution of Syria where by the president is the head of state and the prime minister is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Syr ...

forces.

Background

Founded in September 2012 by a

Latakia , coordinates = , elevation_footnotes = , elevation_m = 11 , elevation_ft = , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , area_code = Country code: 963 City code: 41 , geocode ...

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that has ...

of the

Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Soviet ...

known as Abu Omar al-Jamil, Ansar al-Sham brought together a wide range of mostly Syrian fighters in northern

on a conservative Sunni Islamist platform. The group's military leader is a Chechen known as Abu Musa al-Shishani. As of March 2014, Ansar al-Sham fighters each receive a $60

salary A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which may be specified in an employment contract. It is contrasted with piece wages, where each job, hour or other unit is paid separately, rather than on a periodic basis. ...

every month. The group primary recruits local Syrians but is also open to foreign fighters willing to join the group, most of its members have been described as a mix of

Syrian Army " (''Guardians of the Homeland'') , colors = * Service uniform: Khaki, Olive * Combat uniform: Green, Black, Khaki , anniversaries = August 1st , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = 1948 Arab–Israeli War Six ...

defectors, shopkeepers, and farmers. The group also allegedly received funding from

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

, however in 2015 Saudi Arabia considered listing the group as a terrorist organization. During the

the

reportedly gave the group $500,000 to support the group.

Ideology

The group has the goal of overthrowing the

Syrian Government Government of the Syrian Arab Republic is the union government created by the constitution of Syria where by the president is the head of state and the prime minister is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Syr ...

and establishing an

Islamic state An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...

in its place, though the group does have an Islamist ideology it has been described as vague compared to other factions in the country including allies of the group such as

Ahrar al-Sham Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya ( ar-at, حركة أحرار الشام الإسلامية, Ḥarakat Aḥrāru š-Šām al-Islāmiyah, lit=Islamic Movement of the Freemen of the Levant), commonly referred to as Ahrar al-Sham, is a coalition ...

. The vagueness of the group's ideology has helped it recruit Sunni Syrians from several backgrounds with wide ranges of beliefs.

Relations with other groups

According to one of the group's commanders it does not work directly with the Free Syrian Army, but cooperates with FSA commanders on local levels when needed, and it does not fight against the FSA either. Many commanders of the group condemned the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...

for one of its

commanders Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

killing an FSA commander that the group was allied with, and also held tensions with ISIL, however the group did not cut ties with ISIL, as many members of Ansar al-Sham had familial ties to ISIL members in

Latakia , coordinates = , elevation_footnotes = , elevation_m = 11 , elevation_ft = , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , area_code = Country code: 963 City code: 41 , geocode ...

and many ISIL members in the area were former Ansar al-Sham members. After the incident in which the ISIL commander known as Abu Ayman al-Iraqi killed the FSA commander, Ansar al-Sham's military commander Abu Musa al-Shishani along with Muslim Shishani the leader of

, and Sayfullakh Shishani a commander in

Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar )Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar() , war = the Syrian Civil War , image = , caption = Flag of Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar , active = Summer 2012 – present , ideology = Salafi jihadism, Islamic ...

helped mediate the tensions between the FSA and ISIL preventing an armed confrontation between the two in late 2013. Ansar al-Sham also held good relations with the Syrian branch of

al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

Jabhat al-Nusra Al-Nusra Front or Jabhat al-Nusra ( ar, جبهة النصرة لأهل الشام, Jabhat an-Nuṣrah li-Ahl ish-Sham lit. ''Front of the Supporters of the People of Syria/the Levant''), known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham ( ar, جبهة فتح ال ...

and favored its approach of overthrowing the Syrian government before establishing an Islamic government in contrast to ISIL's approach. Along with having positive ties to al-Nusra the group also held a good relationship with

Harakat Sham al-Islam Jabhat Ansar al-Din ( ar, جبهة أنصار الدين, ''The Supporters of the Religion Front'') is a jihadist alliance that announced itself on 25 July 2014, during the Syrian Civil War. The alliance contains two groups: Harakat Sham al-Isl ...

which was composed Moroccan fighters, and another group known as the Ansar al-Mujahedin Battalion.

History

In December 2012, Ansar al-Sham joined with other Sunni Islamist and

Salafist The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that originated during the nineteenth century. The name refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (), the first three generati ...

groups to found the

umbrella organisation, in November 2013 the SIF was dissolved and Liwa al-Haqq, Ansar al-Sham and

Ahrar ash-Sham Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya ( ar-at, حركة أحرار الشام الإسلامية, Ḥarakat Aḥrāru š-Šām al-Islāmiyah, lit=Islamic Movement of the Freemen of the Levant), commonly referred to as Ahrar al-Sham, is a coalition ...

joined the broader Islamic Front alliance. Ansar al-Sham played a lead role in the

against government forces. On 15 December 2016, the group declared that it decided to completely merge under

Idlib ar, إدلبي, Idlibi , coordinates = , elevation_m = 500 , area_code = 23 , geocode = C3871 , blank_name = Climate , blank_info ...

branch. On 25 January 2017,

's Idlib branch joined

, thus Ansar al-Sham also joined. On 7 February 2017, Ansar al-Sham defected from Ahrar al-Sham to join

(HTS). At dawn on 23 August 2018, Tahrir al-Sham and

Turkistan Islamic Party The Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) or the Turkistan Islamic Movement (TIM), formerly known as the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and other names, is a Uyghur Islamic extremist organization founded in Western China. Its stated goals ar ...

fighters raided Ansar al-Sham's headquarters and positions in the northern Latakia mountains and the countryside west of

Jisr al-Shughur Jisr ash-Shughūr ( ar, جِسْرُ ٱلشُّغُورِ, jisr aš-šuġūr, , also rendered as ''Jisser ash-Shughour'' and other spellings), known in antiquity as Seleucobelus ( el, Σελευκόβηλος, translit=Seleukóbēlos), is a city i ...

. Clashes took place and Ansar al-Sham commanders refused to fight, handing over their headquarters, which contained a large amount of weapons and ammunition, to HTS.

References

External links