SUMMARY

The coalition of Islamic Front, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (at the time called the al-Nusra Front), Liwa al-Jihad fi Sabeel Allah and Liwa Thuwar ar-Raqqa was formed to fight IS in Raqqah in January 2014, simultaneously with other coalitions forming across Syria with the same goal, most notably IS - Islamic Front, Mujahideen Army, SRF. It was superseded by Euphrates Islamic Liberation Front, Islamic Front, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, Liwa Thuwar ar-Raqqa - IS in February 2014, when Liwa al-Jihad fi Sabeel Allah merged into the newly formed alliance of Euphrates Islamic Liberation Front.

The coalition quickly lost ground to IS, which took control of Raqqah town in January and thereafter continued pushing the coalition out of Raqqah governorate. Several of the groups fled north and continued to fight IS in Ayn al Arab and Manbij district of Aleppo, as part of Dawn of Freedom Brigades, Euphrates Islamic Liberation Front, Islamic Front, Jabhat al-Akrad, Liwa Thuwar ar-Raqqa – IS.

The offensive purportedly came as a response to IS kidnapping and murdering a commander in Ahrar al-Sham, which was a part of the Islamic Front, in late December 2013. This is disputed to have been the real cause of the fighting, however, given that the parties would have had trouble coordinating such a large-scale offensive that rapidly. Instead, it has been suggested that the offensive was planned before this event, and came about as a result of IS trying to monopolize control over territories in which it was active, driving out or eliminating other non-state actors (for instance Ahfad al-Rasoul - IS).

Other consequential coalitions formed to drive ISIS out of Aleppo (see IS - Islamic Front, Mujahideen Army, SRF) and Deir ez Zor (see Authenticity and Development Front, Islamic Front, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham - IS and IS - Mujahideen Shura Council).