Liwa Ahrar al-Raqqa, formerly known as the Jihad in the Path of God Brigade is a Free Syrian Army unit active during the Syrian Civil War, originating from the

Raqqa Governorate Raqqa Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة الرقة, Muḥāfaẓat ar-Raqqah) is one of the fourteen governorates of Syria. It is situated in the north of the country and covers an area of 19,618 km2. The capital is Raqqa. The Islamic State of ...

but also active in the eastern

Aleppo Governorate Aleppo Governorate ( ar, محافظة حلب / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥalab'' / ) is one of the fourteen governorates of Syria. It is the most populous governorate in Syria with a population of more than 4,867,000 (2011 Est.), almost 23% of the ...

. It became part of the

Euphrates Volcano Euphrates Volcano ( ar-at, بركان الفرات, Burkān al-Furāt) was a joint operations room/coalition established during the Syrian Civil War. It mainly consisted of the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and certain factions o ...

operation room in 2015 and remained part of the operations room as it expanded into the

Syrian Democratic Forces , war = the Syrian Civil War , image = Flag of Syrian Democratic Forces.svgborder , caption = Flag , active = 10 October 2015 – present , ideology = DemocracyDecentralizationSecularism ...

History

The group is part of the

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 ...

in the Raqqa Governorate, originating as a sub-unit of

Liwa Thuwar al-Raqqa Liwa Thuwar al-Raqqa ( ar, لواء ثوار الرقة, Liwā' Thūwwār ar-Raqqah, lit=Raqqa Revolutionaries' Brigade, links=no) was a rebel group in the Syrian Civil War. It was formed in September 2012 in the Raqqa Governorate. Aligned with ...

in 2012, and continued to hold a close relationship with Liwa Thuwar al-Raqqa working closely with the group. Though unlike Liwa Thuwar al-Raqqa it clashed frequently with 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 ...

, also unlike Liwa Thuwar al-Raqqa recognized the Supreme Military Council and the

Syrian National Council The Syrian National Council (SNC; ar, المجلس الوطني السوري, ''al- Majlis al-Waṭanī as-Sūri'', french: Conseil national syrien), sometimes known as the Syrian National Transitional Council or the National Council of Syri ...

and was officially linked with it. The group was later completely expelled from the Raqqa Governorate by ISIL and was exiled in Kobani in the eastern part of the Aleppo Governorate later taking part in the

defense Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

of the city against ISIL, alongside other Free Syrian Army groups and the

People's Protection Units The People's Defense Units (YPG), (YPG) ; ar, وحدات حماية الشعب, Waḥdāt Ḥimāyat aš-Šaʽb) also called People's Protection Units, is a mainly-Kurdish militia in Syria and the primary component of the Syrian Democra ...

(YPG), and went on to form a joint operations room called the

in 2014. The group was also allied with the

Euphrates Islamic Liberation Front The Euphrates Islamic Liberation Front ( ar, جبهة تحرير الفرات الإسلامية; ''Jabhat al-Tahrir al-Furat al-Islamiyyah'') was a Syrian rebel alliance that was active during the Syrian civil war. The group became defunct since ...

that together with the Euphrates Volcano operation room went on to form the

. The group participated in fighting against the Syrian government during the 2012-2013 rebel

offensive Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

in the Raqqa governorate, alongside groups including

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 ...

, ISIL,

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 ...

and other Free Syrian Army and opposition groups eventually leading to the ousting of the Syrian government from much of the governorate, including

Raqqa Raqqa ( ar, ٱلرَّقَّة, ar-Raqqah, also and ) (Kurdish languages, Kurdish: Reqa/ ڕەقە) is a city in Syria on the northeast bank of the Euphrates River, about east of Aleppo. It is located east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. T ...

city itself. In July 2014, the group published a statement alongside Liwa Thuwar al-Raqqa and another group called the "Group of Battalions Jarabulus and its Countryside" which is a Turkish-aligned Free Syrian Army insurgent group operating in the Raqqa Governorate targeting ISIL by carrying out IED attacks, along with mortar strikes and minor clashes, asking for reinforcements to be sent by the Supreme Military Council in light of the growth of ISIL. In 2015, the group joined

Jaysh al-Salam Jaysh al-Salam ( ar, جيش السلام, lit=Army of Peace) was an operations room of Free Syrian Army factions that operated in northern and eastern Syria with the goal of attacking the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Raqqa. As of the ...

and in 2016 changed its name to Liwa Ahrar al-Raqqa and officially joined the Syrian Democratic Forces.

References

{{reflist Military units and formations established in 2012