Jabhat Ansar al-Islam

Not to be confused with Jama'at Ansar al-Islam or Ansar al-Islam in Kurdistan.

  • Jabhat Ansar al-Islam
  • Supporters of Islam Front
جبهة أنصار الإسلام
Leaders
  • Abu Muhammad al-Jolani[1]
  • Abu al-Majd al-Jolani (POW)[2]
  • Bashar Abu Shihab (POW)[3]
  • Abu Mu'adh al-Agha (spokesman of Tajamu Ansar al-Islam, 2012–13)[4]
Dates of operation
  • 8 August 2012 – late 2013 (Tajamu Ansar al-Islam)
  • 31 March 2014 – 2018? (Jabhat Ansar al-Islam)[5]
Group(s)Jabhat Ansar al-Islam:[6]

Former, Tajamu Ansar al-Islam:

Active regions
IdeologySunni Islamism[2][9]
Part of
Allies
OpponentsSyrian Armed Forces Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Battles and warsSyrian Civil War

Jabhat Ansar al-Islam (Arabic: جبهة أنصار الإسلام; Supporters of Islam Front), originally formed as Tajamu' Ansar al-Islam (Arabic: تجمع أنصار الإسلام; Assembly of the Supporters of Islam) in August 2012, is an independent Sunni Islamist Syrian rebel group active in the Quneitra and Daraa Governorates.

Jabhat Ansar al-Islam is among dozens of Syrian rebel groups that have in the past been supplied with US-made BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missiles and Soviet-made 9K32 Strela-2 MANPADS with US approval.[14]

The group was also known to receive Israeli support alongside several other Syrian opposition factions such as Fursan al-Joulan, Firqat Ahrar Nawa, Saif al-Sham Brigade, Jaydour Horan Brigade, Al-Ezz bin Abdul Salam Brigade, Omar Bin Al-Khattab Brigade, Al-Haramein Battalion, Alwiya al-Furqan, Syrian Revolutionaries Front, Jaysh al-Ababil, Ahrar Gathering and others.

Ideology

Abu al-Majd al-Jolani, commander of Jabhat Ansar al-Islam, stated during an interview on 14 July 2014 that he wanted to establish an Islamic state based on Sharia, and opposed both democracy and a caliphate similar to one proclaimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.[2]

History

The group was originally formed as Tajamu Ansar al-Islam, or the Gathering of Supporters of Islam, a coalition of several Sunni Islamist groups in Damascus and the Rif Dimashq Governorate, announced on 8 August 2012. The coalition initially consisted of the Habib al-Mustafa Brigade, the Companions Battalions, Jaysh al-Islam, Alwiya al-Furqan, and the Shield of al-Sham Battalions. The group took part in the rebel capture of the Marj al-Sultan heliport on 25 November 2012 and the Battle of Daraya, part of the Rif Dimashq offensive (November 2012–February 2013).[4]

In late 2013, Tajamu Ansar al-Islam fell apart due to differences and disputes between its component groups.[6]

On 31 March 2014, Jabhat Ansar al-Islam was formed in the Damascus and Quneitra countryside by the Usama ibn Zayd Brigade, Izz ibn 'Abd al-Salam Brigade, and the Battalion of the Chargers. Some time after its formation, the group established a branch in southern Damascus.[6]

On 21 February 2015, the group announced the creation of a branch in the Idlib Governorate in northwestern Syria.[6]

On 6 April 2017, clashes erupted between Jabhat Ansar al-Islam and the Syrian Revolutionaries Front in the northern Quneitra countryside, which resulted in 7 rebels being killed. Government forces shelled the area on the same day, which resulted in a ceasefire between the two rebel groups.[15]

On 30 May 2018, two commanders of Jabhat Ansar al-Islam, Abu al-Majd al-Jolani and Bashar Abu Shihab, were captured by groups affiliated with the Free Syrian Army in the Quneitra countryside while attempting to surrender to the Syrian Army carrying around $300,000.[3]

Israeli cooperation

During meetings which were held in late 2017 and mid-2018, Israel tried to form the paramilitary Southern Army in southern Syria, which includes a group of opposition factions in the region. At that time, it was agreed that the army would include , alongside the Syrian Revolutionaries Front, Fursan al-Joulan and other factions operating in the area. The army was set to be deployed in the entire area of Al-Jidour in the northwestern countryside of Daraa, in addition to Nawa, and all the liberated areas in the countryside of Quneitra.[16] A military source in one of the factions that agreed to join the formation that Israel was seeking to establish, was quoted by Al-Quds Al-Arabi, claiming that the "Southern Army" was welcomed by some factions in Quneitra, and said that Al-Izz bin Abd al-Salam, which is part of , alongside Fursan al-Joulan and Saif al-Sham Brigade will from the nucleus of the Southern Army.[17]

According to a 2018 investigation by Foreign Policy, Israel supported at least 12 rebel groups by providing them with humanitarian aid, medical treatments, logistical support and military transfers which included assault rifles, machine guns, mortar launchers and transport vehicles. Israel also transferred cash in the form of salaries of $75 per fighter, alongside additional funds for procuring weapons locally.[18]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Syria's New Super-Opposition Coalition Unites Moderates, Islamists -- And Leaves US With Limited Allies". International Business Times. 5 December 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  2. ^ a b c Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi (6 February 2015). "ISIS and Syria's Southern Front". Middle East Institute.
  3. ^ a b Joško Barić. "Syrian War Daily – 30th of May 2018". Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  4. ^ a b c "A spokesman for the Gathering of Supporters of Islam to Orient: Daraya became the regime's node". Orient News. 1 February 2013.
  5. ^ "The displaced convoy departs to the Syrian north and the regime forces regain control of the entire Quneitra Province". SOHR. 31 July 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Jabhat Ansar al-Islam announces establishment of a sector in Idlib". Al-Souria. 21 February 2015. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  7. ^ Lund, Aron (5 October 2012). "Holy Warriors". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  8. ^ a b c d e "The Islamist mess in Damascus". Aron Lund, Syria Comment. 9 February 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  9. ^ a b c "The Moderate Rebels: A Complete and Growing List of Vetted Groups". Democratic Revolution, Syrian Style. 21 October 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  10. ^ "Dead and wounded in clashes between two factions revolutionists north of Quneitra". All4Syria. 7 April 2017.
  11. ^ "Free Syrian Army – Statement". RFS Media Office. 22 March 2016. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  12. ^ Lister, Charles (November 2016). "The Free Syrian Army: A decentralized insurgent brand" (PDF). The Brookings Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World (26).
  13. ^ "Free army factions in the south announce the formation of the "National Front for the Liberation of Syria"". El-Dorar al-Shamia. 22 July 2017.
  14. ^ "Syria war: Rebel group supplied with anti-air missiles". Middle East Eye. 23 November 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  15. ^ "Dead and wounded in clashes between two factions revolutionists north of Quneitra". All4Syria. 7 April 2017.
  16. ^ "من يحاول إحياء "جيش الجنوب"؟". Al-Modon. 27 September 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  17. ^ "إسرائيل تشكل «جيش الجنوب» في منطقة فض الاشتباك في القنيطرة". Al-Quds Al-Arabi. 21 July 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  18. ^ "Inside Israel's Secret Program to Back Syrian Rebels". Foreign Policy. 6 September 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
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