al-Nusra Front

Salafi jihadist terrorist organization
(Redirected from Jabhat Al-Nusra)

al-Nusra Front or Jabhat al-Nusra (Arabic: جَبْهَةُ النُّصْرَةِ), known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (Arabic: جَبْهَةُ فَتْحِ الشَّامِ) is one of the organizations fighting in the Syrian Civil War. Since July 2016, it has also been known as Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (Arabic: جَبْهَةُ فَتْحِ الشَّامِ, transliteration: Jabhat Fataḥ al-Šām). It has also been called al-Qaeda in Syria or al-Qaeda in the Levant.[42][43] They are a Salafist organization and want to create an Islamic state in the country.[44]

al-Nusra Front
جَبْهَةُ النُّصْرَةِ
LeadersAbu Mohammad al-Julani (top emir)[1]
Abu Abdullah al-Shami (senior member)
Ahmad Salama Mabruk  (senior member)
Abu Hajer al-Homsi  (top military commander)[2]
Abu Omar al-Turkistani  (top military commander)[3]
Dates of operation23 January 2012[4] – 28 January 2017[5]
Group(s)See al-Nusra member groups
Headquarters
Active regions Syria (Primarily in Northwest Syria, around the Idlib and Aleppo Provinces)
 Lebanon[11](2013-2017)
IdeologySalafism
Part ofal-Qaeda
Mujahideen Shura Council (2014–present)[17]
Army of Conquest (2015–17)[18]
AlliesState allies

Non-state allies

–2013)
OpponentsState opponents

Non-state opponents

Shi'ite groups

Islamic State and Islamic State affiliates

Battles and warsSyrian Civil War

Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon

Military intervention against ISIL

The group announced its formation on 23 January 2012.[45] The United States designated Jabhat al-Nusra as a foreign terrorist organization, followed by the United Nations Security Council and many other countries.[46] It was the official Syrian branch of al-Qaeda until July 2016, when it became a separate organization.[47][48] In early 2015, the group became one of the major components of the powerful jihadist joint operations room named the Army of Conquest, which took over large territories in Northwestern Syria. It also operates in neighbouring Lebanon.[49] In November 2012, The Washington Post described al-Nusra as the most successful arm of the rebel forces.[50]

In July 2016, al-Nusra formally separated from al-Qaeda and re-branded as Jabhat Fateh al-Sham ("Front for the Conquest of the Levant").[47]

On 28 January 2017, following violent clashes with Ahrar al-Sham and other rebel groups, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham merged with four other groups to become Tahrir al-Sham.

According to spokesmen of a moderate wing of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), in November 2012 Nusra had between 6,000 and 10,000 fighters, which was 7–9% of the FSA's total fighters.[50] Commentator David Ignatius for The Washington Post described Nusra then as the most aggressive and successful arm of the FSA.[50] The United States Department of State stated likewise: "From the reports we get from the doctors, most of the injured and dead FSA are Jabhat al-Nusra, due to their courage and [the fact they are] always at the front line".[50] On 10 December 2012, the U.S. designated Nusra a foreign terrorist organization and an alias of Al Qaeda in Iraq. That decision made it illegal for Americans to deal financially with Nusra. Days earlier, the American ambassador to Syria, R. Ford, had said: "Extremist groups like Jabhat al-Nusra are a problem, an obstacle to finding the political solution that Syria's going to need".[51]

References

change
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  4. "Interview with Official of Jabhat al-Nusra, Syria's Islamist Militia Group". Time. 25 December 2012. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  5. "Syria Islamist factions, including former al Qaeda branch, join forces - statement". Thomson Reuters Foundation. 28 January 2017. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
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  8. Nick Paton Walsh and Laura Smith-Spark (6 November 2014). "Report: Airstrikes target another Islamist group in Syria". CNN. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
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  12. Ghanmi, Elyès; Punzet, Agnieszka (11 June 2013). "The involvement of Salafism/Wahhabism in the support and supply of arms to rebel groups around the world" (PDF). European Parliament.
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  29. Free Syrian Army commander praises Al Nusrah Front as ‘brothers’ | FDD's Long War Journal
  30. من هي جبهة النصرة الجهادية التي تقاتل مع الجيش السوري الحر؟
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  32. FSI | CISAC | MAPPINGMILITANTS CISAC - MMP: Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada
  33. VIDEO: Hezbollah Al-Nujaba Kills 23 Al-Nusra Militants in Syria’s Khan Touman
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