Ansar al-Sham

FormedJune 2012
DisbandedFebruary 7, 2017
First AttackOctober 2012: Ansar al-Sham captured a government outpost (Burj al-Dimous) by the Turkish border. (unknown casualties). [1]
Last AttackAugust 2, 2015: Ansar al-Sham and other militant groups targeted Syrian army positions in Sahl al-Ghab and Hama’s western countryside. It is unclear if Ansar al-Sham fired Grad missiles at these positions or just took part in subsequent fighting. The attack occurred during a Syrian army counterattack during the militants’ Al-Ghab offensive. (44 killed, unknown wounded). [2] [3] [4]
UpdatedFebruary 17, 2017

Narrative Summary

Ansar al-Sham (also known as Kataib Ansar al-Sham, “Supporters of the Levant Brigade”) was an Islamist opposition group active in the Syrian Civil War. It was formed in 2012 through a merger of eleven battalions in Latakia, a governorate in Western Syria that borders Turkey. Katibat Zeid bin Haritha, which became an Ansar al-Sham member brigade, reportedly led the merger. Compared to other opposition groups, Ansar al-Sham was particularly active in humanitarian aid distribution and ran schools in the areas that it controlled. [5] [6] Additionally, Ansar al-Sham differed from other former members of the Islamic Front because it did not target the Islamic State (IS), and avoided confrontation with IS since many IS fighters in Latakia were family members or had social ties to Ansar al-Sham’s members [7]

Though Ansar al-Sham was a member of the Syrian Islamic Front umbrella group from late 2012 through its dissolution in 2013, and helped found the Islamic Front umbrella organization in December 2013, it conducted few verifiably reported attacks prior to 2014. [8] [9] In 2014, Ansar al-Sham began participating in campaigns against the Syrian army that were coordinated with other opposition groups. Its most prominent attack occurred in March 2014, when it participated in an offensive in the northern region of Syria’s Latakia province along with former Al Qaeda affiliate Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra (Al-Nusra), Ahrar al-Sham, Sham al-Islam, and other opposition groups affiliated with the Islamic Front. After two days of fighting, the insurgents seized a small village on the Turkish border, prompting retaliatory airstrikes from the Assad Regime. [10] Ansar al-Sham’s Latakia campaign was its last major offensive as part of the Islamic Front, which dissolved in mid-2014 due to disagreements between its two most prominent members: Ahrar al-Sham and Jaysh al-Islam. [11] Ansar al-Sham’s next major operation began in April 2015 when it overtook Jisr al-Shughour, a strategic city in the Idlib Province on the border of the Latakia Province, with Al-Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham. [12] 

It is unclear if Ansar al-Sham participated in ceasefires prior to 2016. The group did participate in the nation-wide ceasefire that began on February 27, 2016 after the UN Security Council adopted resolution 2268. [13] However by March 2016, increased violence in Syria led to a partial breakdown of the ceasefire as opposition groups, including Ansar al-Sham, launched new assaults in the Latakia and Hama provinces. [14] In April 2016, Ansar al-Sham released a joint statement with its allies, such as Ahrar al-Sham, declaring the end of the ceasefire in Latakia because it believed that the Syrian army was violating the truce by attacking villages and other civilian areas. [15]

Following a series of skirmishes between Sunni opposition groups in the Idlib governorate, Ansar al-Sham joined Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, formerly known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, on February 7, 2017. [16]

Leadership

  1. Abu Omar (Unknown to February 7, 2017): Omar was a veteran of the Afghan insurgency and reportedly founded Ansar al-Sham. Allegedly, he was later responsible solely for managing the group’s funds until the group merged with Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (Tahrir al-Sham) in 2017. [17]
  2. Abu Musa al-Shishani (Unknown to February 7, 2017): Shishani was a Chechen and was reportedly Ansar al-Sham’s military commander until the group merged with Tahrir al-Sham in 2017.[18]

Ideology & Goals

Ansar al-Sham sought to overthrow the Assad Regime and establish a Sunni Islamic state. Unlike other prominent opposition groups, Ansar al-Sham made few ideological claims. [19] [20] Its vague Islamic ideology accounted for the group’s appeal among local Sunni supporters who had a wide range of religious beliefs. [21] However, analysts speculated that Ansar al-Sham’s membership in the Syrian Islamic Front in December 2012 and in the Islamic Front in December 2013 indicated that the organization’s leadership endorsed a more extreme Salafi ideology. [22]

Size Estimates

Designated/Listed

Ansar al-Sham was not listed as a designated terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department, the United Nations, or the European Union.

Since December 2015, the UN Security Council has been trying to assemble a list of terrorist groups in Syria. The United States, Russia, Lebanon, Jordan, Italy, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia supported classifying Ansar al-Sham as a terrorist group, but they were unable to achieve a unanimous consensus. [24] [25]

Resources

There is very limited information about Ansar al-Sham’s funding. The group allegedly received financial support from Saudi Arabia. [26] There was also speculation that it received financial aid from the Free Syrian Army (FSA). In particular, the FSA purportedly offered Ansar al-Sham $500,000 to support its battle efforts in the 2014 Latakia Offensive. [27]

Ansar al-Sham primarily recruited local fighters, but stated that it was not opposed to accepting foreign fighters. [28]

External Influences

Analysts disagree on the extent to which Saudi Arabia influenced Ansar al-Sham. Aside from the aid it directly gave to Ansar al-Sham, some analysts claim that Saudi Arabia played a large role in establishing the Islamic Front, an umbrella group that included Ansar al-Sham, and was Syria's largest alliance of opposition forces with 40,000-70,000 members at its peak. However, other analysts argue that there is little evidence to support this claim aside from Saudi Arabia’s funding for Islamic Front member Jaysh al-Islam. [29] [30]

Geographical Locations

Ansar al-Sham was headquartered in Northern Latakia, a governorate in Western Syria that borders Turkey. It has also been active in Idlib, a governorate in Northwestern Syria that is approximately 60 kilometers southwest of Aleppo. [31] A 2012 report listed eleven constituent brigades in Latakia, three in Idlib, and one in Aleppo. [32]

Targets & Tactics

Ansar al-Sham targeted the Assad Regime and its affiliated fighting forces. Like many other opposition groups in Syria, Ansar al-Sham often engaged in small arms battles and regularly used remotely detonated bombs. [33]

Political Activities

It is unclear if Ansar al-Sham participated in ceasefires prior to the national ceasefire enacted after United Nation Security Council resolution 2268. While it initially adhered to the nation-wide ceasefire, Ansar al-Sham launched new assaults in Latakia and Hama after an increase in violence in March 2016. [34] [35] In April 2016, Ansar al-Sham released a joint statement with four other militant groups—Ahrar al-Sham, Jaysh al-Islam, Jaysh al-Nasr, and the First Coastal Unit—declaring an end of the ceasefire in Latakia because they believed that the Syrian government was violating the truce by attacking villages and other civilian areas. [36]

Major Attacks

  1. October 2012: Ansar al-Sham captured Burj al-Dimous, a Syrian government outpost, by the Turkish border (unknown casualties).[37]
  2. March 2014: Ansar al-Sham allied with Jabhat al-Nusra (Al-Nusra), Ahrar al-Sham, and Sham al-Islam in an opposition offensive in Latakia. They seized the town of Samra and took the border crossing at Kassab, the last northern border region to fall into the militants’ hands (unknown casualties).[38]
  3. April 2015: Ansar al-Sham cooperated with Al-Nusra and Ahrar al Sham in a successful joint venture to overtake Jisr al-Shughour, a strategic city in the Idlib province that borders the Latakia province (unknown casualties).[39]
  4. June 6, 2015: Ansar al-Sham, along with the Jaysh al-Fatah umbrella group and other militant groups, prevented the regime from retaking territory in Idlib, Hama, and Latakia. Insurgents and local media perceived this as a major setback for Colonel Soheil al-Hassan (nicknamed al-Nemer or “the tiger”), who is known as one of Bashar al-Assad’s favorite field commanders (unknown casualties).[40]
  5. August 2, 2015: Ansar al-Sham and other militant groups targeted Syrian army positions in Sahl al-Ghab and Hama’s western countryside. It is unclear if Ansar al-Sham fired Grad missiles at these positions or just took part in subsequent fighting. The attack occurred during a Syrian army counterattack during the militants’ Al-Ghab offensive (44 killed, unknown wounded).[41]

Relationships with Other Groups

Unlike other Syrian militant groups who were part of the Islamic Front, Ansar al-Sham did not oppose the Islamic State (IS) because many IS fighters in the Latakia province were family members or had social ties to Ansar al-Sham’s members. [42] Ansar al-Sham regularly cooperated with local militias and larger groups, such as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra (Al-Nusra), and Ahrar al-Sham. It conducted training operations with Harakat al-Fajr al-Islamiya and fought alongside Al-Nusra, Ahrar al-Sham, and Shal al-Islam during the 2014 Latakia Offensive. [43] [44] Following a series of skirmishes between Sunni opposition groups in the Idlib governorate, Ansar al-Sham joined Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, formerly known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, on February 7, 2017. [45]

Ansar al-Sham was very selective about the umbrella organizations it joined or supported. In late 2012, Ansar al-Sham helped found the Syrian Islamic Front, and it was a founding member of the Islamic Front, the largest umbrella organization of opposition forces in the Syrian war, in December 2013. [46] [47] However, analysts suggest that despite its alliances with select Free Syrian Army (FSA) commanders, Ansar al-Sham did not coordinate attacks with the FSA in order to avoid angering the Islamic State who actively opposed the FSA. [48]

In addition to umbrella organizations, Ansar al-Sham occasionally formed quasi-formal alliances with militant groups. In April 2016, Ansar al-Sham formed a joint operations room, which is a temporary military alliance among groups involved in an attack, with four other militant groups: Ahrar al-Sham, Jaysh al-Islamic, the First Sahililya Division, and the al-Shamaliyya division. [49] Ansar al-Sham formed this operations room to coordinate the battle of Rad al-Mazalem, known as “preventing and stopping injustices” in English. [50]

Community Relationships

Ansar al-Sham actively engaged with the local population. Video evidence demonstrates the group’s commitment to public service, focusing on its food and shelter distribution to refugees, as well as its formal and Koranic classes for children. [51] Ansar al-Sham also worked with local clerics to deliver religious lectures. [52]

References

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  2. ^ The faction fighters target regime forces controlled areas in Sahl al-Ghab and the western countryside of Hama. Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 2 Aug. 2015. Web. 15 Jun. 2016.
  3. ^ About 30 deaths and wound from the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them in the violent clashes in Sahl al-Ghab and the countryside of Jesr al-shoghour. Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 3 Aug. 2015. Web. 15 Jun. 2016.
  4. ^ Westall, Sylvia. Syrian army advances on plain after rebel offensive: monitor. Reuters. Reuters, 1 Aug. 2015. Web 15 Jun. 2016
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  6. ^ Lund, Aron. "Syria's Salafi Insurgents: The Rise of the Syrian Islamic Front." UI Occasional Papers (n.d.): 26. Swedish Institute of International Affairs, Mar. 2013. Web. 7 Aug. 2014.
  7. ^ Hussein, Tam. "The Ansar Al-Sham Battalions." Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. N.p., 24 Mar. 2014. Web. 07 Aug. 2014.
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  41. ^ The faction fighters target regime forces controlled areas in Sahl al-Ghab and the western countryside of Hama. Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 2 Aug. 2015. Web. 15 Jun. 2016. About 30 deaths and wound from the re
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