SUMMARY
Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS or the “Organization for the Liberation of the Levant”) was a Syrian rebel group which traces its rise to the beginning of the Syrian civil war and continued to be a important opposition force. HTS was led by Abu Muhammad al-Julani and consisted of 12,000 – 20,000 fighters. It was a relatively localized Syrian terrorist organization, which held a jihadist ideology despite its public split from al-Qaida in 2017.
Its former names are Jabhat al-Nusra and Jabhat Fatah al-Sham. Jabhat al-Nusra was formed in Syria in late 2011 as an al-Qaida affiliate within the opposition to the Assad regime. Its leader, al-Julani, established a capable group, which secured its own donors, collected revenue from taxation and asset seizures in the territories under its control, became capable of committing insurgent attacks, and attracted a growing amount of combatants.
In July 2016, al-Julani announced the dissolution of Jabhat al-Nusra and the establishment of a new group, Jabhat Fatah al-Sham. In late January 2017, Jabhat Fatah al- Sham re-branded itself again, as it merged with several hardline Syrian local rebel groups; Nour al-Din al-Zenki, Liwa al Haq, Jaish al Sunna and Jabhat Ansar al Din, establishing Hay’at Tahrir al Sham (HTS). This merger and shift towards local rebels drove some foreign Jihadi fighters and figures away from the HTS. The international “global caliphate” rhetoric adopted by Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaida is absent in HTS publications. Alternatively, the group’s focus was more local, with its main objective to establish an Islamic state in Syria. Despite HTS’s re-branding and local rhetoric, the U.S. government believed that a link between the two groups remained.
Similar to IS, HTS governed the territory it controlled through a sophisticated administrative structure, by establishing civil services, Sharia courts, and providing security. On the other hand, HTS imposed taxes and fines on citizens that lived in the territory it controlled. Those taxes included utility, service taxes, income and business taxes as well as renting out empty houses. Import tariffs on goods entering HTS’s territory was a vital and stable income source for the group. Unlike other rebel and Jihadi groups, HTS did not take cash, but a certain percentage of the tariffed goods instead.
Another crucial part of HTS’s income was spoils of war. This was the group’s main source of heavy weaponry such as tanks, IFVs, and APCs that helped it apply its unique tactics on the battlefield. In the battle of Idlib, HTS managed to take 33 tanks. Those tanks along with other heavy weapons were a deciding factor in the gains of the 2016 South Aleppo offensive despite heavy Russian airstrikes. Kidnappings of civilians and military personnel for ransom has been considered a significant source of income particularly between 2012 and 2015. Although ransom income was not a stable income, it remained a source of millions of dollars each year. Like most designated terrorist organizations, HTS enjoyed a stream of donations from around the world. Donations were sent through Hawala; a money transfer method that involves intermediaries and brokers to maintain plausible deniability. While much of the organization’s income and resources initially came from foreign donors, HTS increasingly relied on funding sources more typical of a government. Taxes, tariffs and fines are typically imposed by governments, but were key in HTS’s overall funding structure. Unlike most governments, HTS also relied heavily on spoils of war, hostage ransoms and smuggling to fund itself.
HTS’s strong footprint on the battlefield distinguished it from other rebel groups. Since establishment in late 2011 it proved to be a worthy adversary to regime forces. HTS along with IS introduced new tactics to the Syrian civil war and to civil wars in general. HTS used a crucial tactic they called the Inghimasi tactic. Inghimasi fighters were defined by the United States military Combating Terrorism Center as "suicide fighters (...) who submerse in enemy lines with no intent to come back alive". Inghimasi fighters are deployed after a wave of suicide bombers and before the main regular wave. That is, they may run behind or are sometimes transported by armored suicide cars and keep pushing through the frontlines until they become entirely surrounded by enemy forces. At this point, remaining troops with heavy armor are deployed to the battlefield. HTS also managed to utilize AT-missile systems in a unique way which became a determining factor for its success on the battlefield. HTS also added light drones into its arsenal, using them as its long arm to attack regime forces where its mortars can’t reach in addition to using drones for surveillance.
While HTS sustained military alliances with many rebel and Jihadi groups, Ahrar al-Sham was its closest ally. The two groups began coordinating attacks together in late 2012, and with the Islamic Front, an umbrella organization where Ahrar al-Sham was an influential member in 2014. The groups coordinated operations through Jaysh al-Fatah (Army of Conquest) umbrella organization, which HTS spearheaded a successful campaign to push the Syrian Army out of the Idlib governorate in 2015, and through the Fatah Halab control room. While HTS’s close military relationship with Ahrar al-Sham helped facilitate the former’s rise to power, the two groups have engaged each other in violent skirmishes over differences on how to govern the areas they jointly control.
HTS had a complicated relationship with the FSA, a loose affiliation of rebel groups with decentralized leadership. Coming from different ideologies, those groups coordinated with HTS, especially in a 2013 offensive against Government of Syria positions in Southern Syria, and in offensives against Syrian government and its allies' positions in 2014 and 2015. HTS also attacked those rebel groups throughout the course of war, more specifically during its attempt to consolidate power in Idlib province. In addition, HTS regularly targeted U.S.-backed opposition groups because it believed their alliance with the United States posed a threat to its operations.
Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya or Ahrar al-Sham was formed in December 2011 as part of the civil war in Syria. The group has increasingly become one of the most prominent groups within the opposition.
Ahrar al-Sham was Sunni Salafist militant group that aimed at replacing the Assad Regime with an Islamic government.
Ahrar al-Sham was the largest group within the Islamic Front. The group has also been the main component of the Fatah Halab, Jaysh al-Fatah Idlib, Eastern Qalamoun, Eastern Ghouta Unified Military Command Operation Rooms. Ahrar al-Sham has also been fighting together with Jabhat al-Nusra. On 18 February 2018, Ahrar al-Sham created Syrian Liberation Front together with Nour al-Din Zenki. Syrian Liberation Front merged with National Front for Liberation in August 2018, which in turn joined the Turkish-backed rebel alliance SNA (Syria National Army) in October 2019.
Ahrar al-Sham consisted of 10 000 - 20 000 fighters. Qatar Supported Ahrar al-Sham with weapons and money in 2014, Saudi Arabia and Turkey joined the support in 2015 providing the group with weapons and money.
Ahrar al-Sham was led by Hassan Abboud until he was killed in clashes with IS on 9 September 2014. On 11 September 2014 Sheikh Hashim al-Sheikh became the interim leader of Ahrar al-Sham until September 2015 when he stepped down in favour of Abu Yahya al-Hamawi.
Ahrar al-Sham has been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organised violence. It is also considered part of the Syrian insurgents active in the intrastate and one-sided categories of UCDP organised violence.
The Southern Front, formed as an alliance on 14 February 2014, grouped together most opposition groups in Daraa and Quneitra governorates totaling approximately 25 000 to 30 000 fighters. Southern Front branded themselves as an FSA group.
The group was funded by the US through the Military Operations Command (MOC) in Jordan
Southern Front was led by General Bashar al-Zoub who also was the leader of Yarmouk Army (Yarmouk Brigade).
The Southern Front has been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organised violence. It is also considered part of the Syrian insurgents active in the intrastate and one-sided categories of UCDP organised violence.
