Al-Nusra Front

Jabhat Fateh al-Sham
جبهة فتح الشام
Participant in the Syrian Civil War and the
Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon

Flag of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (since July 2016)
Active 23 January 2012 – present[1]
Ideology
Groups
Leaders Abu Mohammad al-Julani (top emir)[12]
Abu Abdullah al-Shami (senior member)
Ahmad Salama Mabruk † (senior member)
Abu Hajer al-Homsi † (top military commander)[13]
Headquarters
Area of operations  Syria (Primarily in Northwest Syria, around the Idlib and Aleppo Provinces)
 Lebanon[19]
Strength 15,000[20][21][22]
Part of al-Qaeda (2013-2016)
Mujahideen Shura Council (2014-present)[23]
Army of Conquest (2015-present)[24]
Allies
Opponents

State opponents

Non-state opponents

Shi'ite groups

Islamic State and Islamic State affiliates

Battles and wars

Syrian Civil War

Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon

Military intervention against ISIL

Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (Arabic: جبهة فتح الشام‎‎, transliteration: Jabhat fatḥ ash-Shām, "Front for the Conquest of the Levant"), formerly known as the Al-Nusra Front (Arabic: جبهة النصرة لأهل الشام‎‎, transliteration: Jabhat an-Nuṣrah li-ahli ash-Shām, "The Victory Front for the People of the Levant", often abbreviated to JN), al-Qaeda in Syria, or al-Qaeda in the Levant,[38] is a Salafist jihadist terrorist organization fighting against the forces of the Syrian government in the Syrian Civil War, with the aim of establishing an Islamic state in the country.[39] It was the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda until 2016,[40][41] and also operates in neighbouring Lebanon.[42] 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.

The group announced its formation on 23 January 2012.[43] In November 2012, The Washington Post described al-Nusra as the most successful arm of the rebel forces.[44] Ten days later, the United States designated Jabhat al-Nusra as a foreign terrorist organization, followed by the United Nations Security Council and many other countries.

In early 2015, there were reports that Qatar and other Gulf states were trying to get al-Nusra to split away from al-Qaeda, after which they would support al-Nusra with money.[45] Western observers[46] and a Syrian observer[47] considered such a split unlikely, and in March 2015, al-Nusra’s leadership denied a break-up or that talks with Qatar had occurred.[46] Other Syrian observers considered such a split conceivable[47] or imminent.[48]

On 28 July 2016, Jabhat al-Nusra announced that it had split from al-Qaeda. Leader Abu Mohammed al-Julani, in his first recorded message, said its new name would be Jabhat Fateh al-Sham ("Front for the Conquest of the Levant").[40]

Ideology

The membership of al-Nusra Front is primarily made up of Syrian jihadists.[49][50] Its goals are to overthrow Bashar al-Assad's government in Syria and to create an Islamic emirate under sharia law,[51][52] with an emphasis from an early stage on focusing on the "near enemy" of the Syrian regime rather than on global jihad.[53] Syrian members of the group claim that they are fighting only the Assad regime and would not attack Western states;[54] while official policy of the group is to hold the United States and Israel as enemies of Islam,[55] and to warn against Western intervention in Syria,[54] al-Nusra Front leader Julani has stated that "We are only here to accomplish one mission, to fight the regime and its agents on the ground, including Hezbollah and others".[56] In early 2014, Sami al-Oraydi, a top sharia official in the group, acknowledged that it is influenced by the teachings of al-Qaeda member Abu Musab al-Suri. The strategies derived from Abu Musab's guidelines include: providing services to people, avoiding being seen as extremists, maintaining strong relationships with local communities and other fighting groups, and putting the focus on fighting the government.[57] On 10 June 2015, al-Nusra fighters shot dead at least 20 Druze civilians in a village after one of them, a supporter of the Assad regime, opposed the expropriation of his house by a Nusra commander. Al-Nusra's leadership issued an apology and claimed that they had been carried out against the group's guidelines. Foreign Affairs magazine, which contends that Al-Jazeera is engaged in actively whitewashing Al-Nusra, said that there is absolutely no reference to the Druze in Al-Nusra's "apology", since Al-Nusrah forced the Druze to renounce their religion, destroyed their shrines and now considers them Sunni.[58][59][60] Nusra and ISIL are both against the Druze, the difference being that Nusra is apparently satisfied with destroying Druze shrines and making them become Sunnis while ISIL wants to violently annihilate them as it does to Yazidis.[61]

The tactics of al-Nusra Front differ markedly from those of rival jihadist group ISIL; whereas ISIL has alienated local populations by demanding their allegiance and carrying out beheadings, al-Nusra Front has cooperated with other militant groups and has declined to impose sharia law where there has been opposition. Analysts have noted this could give al-Nusra Front a greater long-term advantage.[62]

In early 2015, al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri instructed al-Nusra Front leader Jolani to pursue the following five goals:[47]

  1. Better integrate his movement within the Syrian revolution and its people
  2. Coordinate more closely with all Islamic groups on the ground
  3. Contribute towards the establishment of a Syria-wide sharia judicial court system
  4. Use strategic areas of the country to build a sustainable al-Qaeda power base
  5. Cease any activity linked to attacking the West[47]

Al-Qaeda/Al-Nusra has been trying to take advantage of ISIL's rise by presenting itself as "moderate" compared to ISIL. While it has the same aim of establishing sharia and a caliphate, it intends to implement it in a more gradual manner.[63][64][65][66][67] Al Nusra criticized the way ISIL fully and immediately instituted sharia since it alienated people too much, with a gradual, slower approach favored by al-Qaeda by preparing society to accept it and indoctrinating people through education before implementing the hudud aspects of sharia. They particularly criticised ISIL's enthusiasm for punishments such as executing gay people, chopping limbs off, and public stoning. However, Al-Qaeda agrees that hudud punishments should be implemented in the long term.[68] The main criticism of defectors from ISIL is that the group is killing and fighting other Sunni Muslims, and that they are unhappy that other Sunnis like Jabhat al-Nusra are being attacked by ISIL.[69]

A video called The Heirs of Glory was issued by al-Nusra, which included old audio by Osama bin Laden (such as his 1998 announcement that "So we seek to incite the Islamic Nation so it may rise to liberate its lands and perform Jihad in the path of Allah, and to establish the law of Allah, so the Word of Allah may be supreme"). The video glorified the September 11 attacks and the Islamists Sayyid Qutb and Abdullah Azzam.[70] Its magazine, Al Risalah, was first issued in July 2015.

Al-Qaeda leader al-Zawahiri urged ISIL fighters to unite with all other jihadists against their enemies and stop the infighting.[71][72] The Nusra Front praised the November 2015 Paris attacks, saying that even though they view ISIL as "dogs of hellfire", they applaud when "infidels" get attacked by ISIL.[73]

Flags

Flags of the al-Nusra Front
Flag of the al-Nusra Front, most commonly used until July 2016 
Variant flag of the al-Nusra Front, commonly used until July 2016 
Flag of Jabhat Fatah al-Sham since July 2016 

Structure

Leadership

The leader of al-Nusra, a self-proclaimed emir, goes by the name of Abu Mohammad al-Julani (also transliterated as: Mohammed and al-Jawlani, or: al-Golani), which implies that he is from the Golan Heights (al-Jawlan, in Arabic). Very little is known about him, with even his nationality unclear.[39] On 18 December 2013, he gave his first television interview, to Tayseer Allouni, a journalist originally from Syria, for Al Jazeera, and spoke classical Arabic with a Syrian accent.[74]

Name Position Situation
Abu Mohammad al-Julani Emir

Founder and Emir of al-Nusra Front[75]

Sami al-Oraydi Deputy Emir

Deputy leader and senior religious official in al-Nusra[75]

Abu Humam al-Shami † Military Commander

Military Chief for al-Nusra Front.[75] Killed in March 2015 by the US-led Coalition[17][76]

Abu Firas al-Suri † Chief Spokesperson

Chief media Spokesperson for al-Nusra Front.[75] Killed in April 2016 by an Syrian Air Force airstrike.[77]

Abu Maria Al-Qahtani Emir of the Eastern area

Held the position of general religious authority and Emir of the Eastern area until 30 July 2014[75]

Abu Muhammed al Ansari † Emir of Idlib province

Held the position of Emir of Idlib province[78] and killed in April 2014 by ISIL forces[78]

Ahmad Salama Mabruk †[79] Killed in October 2016 by an US drone strike in Jisr al-Shughur.[80][81]
Abu Hajer al-Homsi †[13] Military chief Killed in an airstrike, reportedly by either the US or Russia, near Aleppo on September 2016.[13]

Hierarchy

The structure of the group varies across Syria. In Damascus, the organisation operates in an underground clandestine cell system, while in Aleppo, the group is organised along semi-conventional military lines, with units divided into brigades, regiments, and platoons.[39] All potential recruits must undertake a ten-day religious training course, followed by a 15–20-day military training program.[1]

Al-Nusra contains a hierarchy of religious bodies, with a small Majlis-ash-Shura (Consultative Council) at the top, making national decisions on behalf of the group. Religious personnel also play an important role in the regional JN leadership, with each region having a commander and a sheikh. The sheikh supervises the commander from a religious perspective and is known as dabet al-shar'i (religious commissioner).[39]

Members of the group are accused of attacking the religious beliefs of non-Sunnis in Syria, including the Alawis.[55] New York Times journalist C. J. Chivers cites "some analysts and diplomats" as noting that al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant "can appear less focused on toppling" the Assad government than on "establishing a zone of influence spanning Iraq's Anbar Province and the desert eastern areas of Syria, and eventually establishing an Islamic territory under their administration".[82]

Foreign fighters

A number of Americans have attempted to join the fighting in Syria, specifically with al-Nusra.[83] Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen, also known as Hasan Abu Omar Ghannoum, was arrested in California on 11 October 2013, on charges of attempting to travel to join al-Qaeda, after reportedly having fought in Syria.[83] As of November 2013, there had also been five additional publicly disclosed cases of Americans fighting in Syria, three of which were linked to al-Nusra.[84]

It is estimated that al-Nusra's fighting force is approximately 30% foreign fighters and 70% local Islamists.[85]

Media

All statements and videos by al-Nusra Front have been released by its media outlet, al-Manarah al-Bayda (The White Minaret), via the leading jihadist webforum Shamoukh al-Islam.[1]

Relations with al-Qaeda since July 2016

Although the group's leader announced that it was not affiliated with al-Qaeda, the United States Central Command consider it to be a branch of al-Qaeda and "an organization to be concerned about".[86]

In December 2015, al-Nusra's emir Abu Mohammad al-Julani, who still leads the renamed group, refused to dissociate from al-Qaeda's ideology and stated that even if the group leaves al-Qaeda, they would continue to enforce Sharia and wage jihad against their enemies. During the renaming announcement in July 2016, al-Julani thanked al-Qaeda leaders Ayman al-Zawahiri and Abu Khayr al-Masri. Ahmad Salama Mabruk, an associate of al-Zawahiri, sat alongside al-Julani during the announcement.[87]

History

Origin

Upon the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, Islamic State of Iraq's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and al-Qaeda’s central command authorized the Syrian Abu Mohammad al-Golani to set up a Syrian offshoot of al Qaeda in August 2011, to bring down the Assad government and establish an Islamic state there. Golani and some colleagues crossed the border from Iraq into Syria, and reached out to Islamists released from Syria's Sednaya military prison in May–June 2011 who were already active in fighting against Assad’s security forces.[39][88]

A number of meetings were held between October 2011 and January 2012 in Rif Dimashq and Homs, where the objectives of the group were determined.[39] Golani’s group formally announced itself under the name "Jabhat al-Nusra l’Ahl as-Sham" (Support Front for the People of the Sham) on 23 January 2012.[39][88]

Iraq's deputy interior minister said in early February 2012 that weapons and Islamist militants were entering Syria from Iraq.[89] The Quilliam Foundation reported that many of Nusra's members were Syrians who were part of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's Islamist network fighting the 2003 American invasion in Iraq;[39] Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari agreed to that in 2012.[90] The British The Daily Telegraph stated in December 2012 that many foreign al-Nusra fighters were hardened veterans from conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.[54]

Strength in 2012

By the second half of 2012, Jabhat al-Nusra stood out among the array of armed groups emerging in Syria as a disciplined and effective fighting force.[88] Nusra in October 2012 refused a call for a four-day ceasefire in Syria during Eid al-Adha feast.[91]

In November 2012, they were considered by The Huffington Post to be the best trained and most experienced fighters among the Syrian rebels.[92] According to spokesmen of a moderate wing of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), Nusra had in November 2012 between 6,000 and 10,000 fighters, accounting for 7–9% of the FSA’s total fighters.[44] Commentator David Ignatius for The Washington Post described Nusra then as the most aggressive and successful arm of the FSA.[44] 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".[44]

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".[93]

Relations with other Syrian rebels

Al-Nusra Front fighters during the Syrian Civil War.

In 2012

In October–December 2012, and especially after its terrorist designation by the US, Nusra received words of praise and appreciation for their efforts in the "revolution" against Assad from non-specified ‘rebels’,[91] a Free Syrian Army (FSA) spokesman in the Aleppo region,[94] a group of 29 civilian and military groups,[95][96] and the leader of the Syrian National Coalition.[97] At the same time, two anonymous FSA leaders,[54][91] and a secular rebel in north Syria,[54] expressed disapproval of the Islamist ‘religious prison’ Nusra might be wanting to turn Syria into.

In 2015

In 2015, rebel factions in southern Syria vowed to distance themselves from the ‘extremists’ of al-Nusra in April 2015, but were seen cooperating with them in Daraa only days later.[98]

During successful Syrian opposition offensives in the northern Idlib Governorate from March until May 2015 (see also March–April offensive and April–June 2015 offensive), al-Nusra effectively coordinated its operations with Free Syrian Army, moderate and conservative Syrian Islamists, and some independent jihadist factions.[98]

Split with ISIL (2013)

By January 2013, Nusra was a formidable force with strong popular support in Syria,[88] and it continued to grow in strength during the following months.[99] On 8 April 2013, the leader of the then Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, released a recorded audio message on the Internet, in which he announced that Jabhat al-Nusra was part of his network,[100] and that he was merging Jabhat al-Nusra with ISI into one group, "Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham" (ISIL), under his command.[88][101] Al-Baghdadi also said that Abu Mohammad al-Julani had been dispatched by the ISI to Syria to meet with pre-existing cells in the country and that the ISI had provided Jabhat al-Nusra with the plans and strategy needed for the Syrian Civil War, and had been funding their activities.[101]

The next day al-Julani rejected the merger and affirmed the group's allegiance to al-Qaeda and its leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri.[88] Al-Julani was quoted as saying, "We inform you that neither the al-Nusra command nor its consultative council, nor its general manager were aware of this announcement. It reached them via the media and if the speech is authentic, we were not consulted."[102] Nusra then split, with some members, particularly foreign fighters, followed Baghdadi’s edict and joined ISIL, while others stayed loyal to Golani or left to join other Islamist brigades.[88][103][104]

In May 2013, Reuters reported that al-Baghdadi had travelled from Iraq to Syria's Aleppo Governorate province and begun recruiting members of al-Nusra.[105] Sometime in May 2013, al-Julani was reportedly injured by an airstrike conducted by the Syrian government.[106] In June 2013, Al Jazeera reported that it had obtained a letter written by al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, addressed to both Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and Abu Mohammad al-Julani, in which he ruled against the merger of the two organisations and appointed an emissary to oversee relations between them and put an end to tensions.[107] Later in the month, an audio message from al-Baghdadi was released in which he rejected al-Zawahiri's ruling and declared that the merger of the two organisations into the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant was going ahead. This sequence of events caused much confusion and division amongst members of al-Nusra.[104]

In November 2013, Al-Zawahiri ordered the disbandment of ISIL and said al-Nusra should be considered the (only) al-Qaeda branch in Syria,[41] and bestowed the title "Tanzim Qa'edat Al-Jihad fi Bilad Al-Sham" ("the Qae'dat Al-Jihad organization in the Levant") on them, officially integrating Nusra into al-Qaeda’s global network.[38]

Open fights Nusra–ISIL (2013–2015)

Some units of al-Nusra began taking part in clashes against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in late 2013.[108]

In February 2014, after efforts to end the dispute between ISIL and Nusra had failed, al-Qaeda formally dissociated itself from its onetime affiliate ISIL, leaving Jabhat al-Nusra the sole representative of al-Qaeda in Syria.[109] In the same month, al-Julani threatened to go to war with ISIL over their suspected role in the killing of senior Ahrar ash-Sham commander Abu Khaled al-Souri. Al-Julani gave ISIL five days to submit evidence that they were innocent of the attack to three imprisoned Jihadist clerics, Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, Abu Qatada al-Falastini, and Suleiman al-Alwan.[110] On 16 April 2014, ISIL killed al-Nusra's Idlib chief Abu Mohammad al-Ansari together with his family, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.[111] In May 2014, open fighting broke out between ISIL and al-Nusra in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, leaving hundreds dead on both sides.[112]

By July 2014, al-Nusra had largely been expelled from Deir ez-Zor Governorate.[113] Also in July, an audio recording attributed to al-Julani appeared online, in which he said that al-Nusra planned to establish an Islamic emirate in the areas of Syria where they had a presence. A statement issued on 12 July 2014 by al-Nusra's media channel affirmed the authenticity of the recording, but stated that they had not yet declared the establishment of an emirate.[114][115][116][117]

In June 2015, al-Julani stated in regards to ISIL: "There is no solution between us and them in the meantime, or in the foreseeable future [...] We hope they repent to God and return to their senses ... if not, then there is nothing but fighting between us."[56]

Speculations on a split with al-Qaeda

On 12 February 2015, SITE Intelligence Group cited rumours that Nusra leader al-Julani had plans to disassociate from al-Qaeda.[118]

On 4 March, "sources within and close to al-Nusra" reportedly had said to Reuters that in the past months Qatar and other Gulf states had talked with Nusra leader Abu Mohammad al-Julani and encouraged him to abandon al-Qaeda, promising funding to Nusra once that break-up was carried out. An official close to the Qatari government had confirmed to Reuters that Qatar wanted Nusra to become purely Syrian and disconnect from al-Qaeda, after which Qatar would start to support Nusra with money and supplies. Muzamjer al-Sham, reportedly a ‘prominent jihadi close to Nusra’ had said that Nusra would soon merge with Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar and other small jihadi brigades and disengage from al-Qaeda, but that not all Nusra emirs had yet agreed to that.[45]

On 9 March 2015, in a statement issued on Twitter, al-Nusra denied "completely all reports of a meeting with Qatari" and reports of a break-up with al-Qaeda. Expert Thomas Pierret at the University of Edinburgh assumed that Qatar was trying to force the hand of Al-Nusra with this "leak" about a split, and said a break with Al-Qaeda was very unlikely. French expert on jihadism Romain Caillet agreed: "The overwhelming majority of Al-Nusra members want to stay in al-Qaeda, particularly foreign fighters who represent at least one-third of the organisation".[46]

But Abu Maria al-Qahtani, the commander of al-Nusra in Deir ez-Zor province, still strongly advocated a split with al-Qaeda.[48] Muhamed Nabih Osman, leading a charitable organisation for former Assad prisoners, said to website The Daily Beast on 4 May 2015: "I think it will happen soon. You have to understand that al-Nusra consists of two very different parts and that one part, mostly local fighters, are not interested in global jihad".[48]

On 7 May 2015, a Turkish official said that Turkey and Saudi Arabia were bolstering Ahrar al-Sham at Nusra's expense, hoping that al-Sham's rise puts pressure on Nusra to renounce its ties to al-Qaeda and open itself to outside help.[119]

A "well-connected Syrian Islamist" cited in May 2015 by The Huffington Post said: "There are now two main currents... the conservatives are keen on keeping ties to Al-Qaeda and the others are more inclined towards the new Syria-focused approach". Another "Islamist official from Damascus" is cited: "Nusra's disengagement from al Qaeda would be good for the revolution, but Jabhat al-Nusra will always be in dire need of al Qaeda's name to keep its foreign fighters away from IS. Most Jabhat foreign fighters will never accept to fight and die for what looks like an Islamic national project."[47]

In late July 2016, through various sources, the Middle East Eye claimed that an organizational split from al-Qaeda is "imminent", with the proposal reportedly been approved by AQ leaders and proposed a new name called "Jabhat Fatah al-Sham", or the "Conquest of the Levant Front". However, the sources claim that the move will not affect al-Nusra al-Qaeda ideology and its plan to commit attacks on the West.[120]

Other attacks (2012–2015)

The 6 January 2012 al-Midan bombing was claimed by al-Nusra, in a video seen by AFP on 29 February 2012.[121] It was allegedly carried out by Abu al-Baraa al-Shami. Footage of the destruction caused by the blast was released on a jihadist forum.[122] The video asserts that the "martyrdom-seeking operation" was executed "in revenge for our mother Umm Abdullah—from the city of Homs—against whom the criminals of the regime violated her dignity and threatened to slaughter her son," SITE reported. The video shows "an excerpt of allegiances, operations, and training of the al-Nusra Front" as well as a fighter "amongst the masses in a public demonstration, advising them to do their prayers and adhere to the rituals of Islam."

Al-Nusra Front announced the formation of the "Free Ones of the Levant Brigades", in a YouTube video statement that was released on 23 January. In the statement, the group claimed that it attacked the headquarters of security in Idlib province.[123] "To all the free people of Syria, we announce the formation of the Free Ones of the Levant Brigades," the statement said, according to a translation obtained by The Long War Journal. "We promise Allah, and then we promise you, that we will be a firm shield and a striking hand to repel the attacks of this criminal Al Assad army with all the might we can muster. We promise to protect the lives of civilians and their possessions from security and the Shabiha [pro-government] militia. We are a people who will either gain victory or die."[123]

The March 2012 Damascus bombings were claimed by Nusra.[43]

The 10 May 2012 Damascus bombings were allegedly claimed by al-Nusra Front in an Internet video;[124] however, on 15 May 2012, someone claiming to be a spokesman for the group denied that the organisation was responsible for the attack, saying that it would only release information through jihadist forums.[125]

On 29 May 2012, a mass execution was discovered near the eastern city of Deir ez-Zor. The unidentified corpses of 13 men had been discovered shot to death execution-style.[126] On 5 June 2012, al-Nusra Front claimed responsibility for the killings, stating that they had captured and interrogated the soldiers in Deir ez-Zor and "justly" punished them with death, after they confessed to crimes.[127]

On 17 June 2012, Walid Ahmad al-Ayesh, described by Syrian authorities as the "right hand" of al-Nusra Front, was killed when Syrian authorities discovered his hiding place. He was reportedly responsible for the making of car bombs that were used to attack Damascus in the previous months.[128] The Syrian authorities reported the killing of another prominent member of the group, Wael Mohammad al-Majdalawi, killed on 12 August 2012 in an operation conducted in Damascus.[129]

On 27 June 2012, a group of Syrian rebels attacked a pro-government TV station in the town of Drousha, just south of the capital Damascus. The station's studios were destroyed with explosives. Seven people were killed in the attack on Al-Ikhbariya TV, including four guards and three journalists.[130] Al-Nusra claimed responsibility for the attack and published photos of 11 station employees they kidnapped following the raid.[131]

The murder in July 2012 of journalist Mohammed al-Saeed, a well-known government TV news presenter, was claimed by Nusra in a video released on 3 or 4 August, according to Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.[132][133]

The scene at Saadallah Al-Jabiri Square after the attacks on 3 October 2012

The 3 October 2012 Aleppo bombings were claimed by Al-Nusra.[134] Three suicide car bombs exploded at the eastern corner of the central Saadallah Al-Jabiri Square killing 48 people.[135] More than 122 people were reported to be heavily injured.[136] The bombs targeted the Officers' club and the nearby buildings of the Touristic Hotel and the historic "Jouha Café". The hotel received major damage while the café was entirely destroyed. A small building within the Officers' club was ruined as well.[137][138]

Al-Nusra Front also claimed responsibility for attacking numerous Syrian military bases, including:

In the air defence base assault they reportedly destroyed buildings and sabotaged radar and rockets after over-running the base in co-operation with the al-Fajr Islamic Movement and a group of Chechen fighters. During the storming of the Hanano barracks 11 soldiers were killed and they held the complex for six hours before retreating. They also claimed killing 32 soldiers during the raid on the Raqqah base.[139]

In October 2012, they joined other rebels in an attack on the Wadi Deif base around Maraat al Numan, in a prolonged fighting that turned into a siege of the base.[140] They also led an attack on the Taftanaz Air Base in November 2012, an important and strategic base for the Syrian army, containing up to 48 helicopters.[92]

The group seized three army checkpoints around Saraqeb at the end of October 2012, forcing the Syrian Army to withdraw from the area the next day. In the battle, 28 Syrian soldiers were killed as well as five Nusra fighters. Some of the captured soldiers were summarily executed after being called "Assad dogs". The video of these executions was widely condemned, with the United Nations referring to them as probable war crimes.[141][142]

Members of al-Nusra Front carried out two suicide attacks in early November 2012. One occurred in a rural development center in Sahl al-Ghab in Hama province, where a car bomb killed two people; while the other occurred in the Mezzeh neighbourhood of Damascus, where a suicide bomber killed 11 people.[143] The SOHR claimed a total of 50 soldiers were killed in the Sahl al-Ghab attack.[144]

Al Jazeera reported on 23 December 2012 that al-Nusra Front had declared a "no-fly-zone" over Aleppo, using 23 mm and 57 mm anti-aircraft guns to down planes. This would include commercial flights which al-Nusra believed transported military equipment and troops. In a video sent to Al Jazeera, they warned civilians against boarding commercial flights.[145]

In February 2013, Al Nusra fighters were involved in fighting in Safira with government reinforcements, preventing these forces from reaching their destination of the city of Aleppo. A monitoring group claims this resulted in more than two hundred casualties over a period of two weeks.[146]

Though it was initially reported that Syrian Catholic priest François Murad was beheaded at a church in Gassanieh, he was actually shot dead.[147]

The group has taken part in military operations with the Free Syrian Army.[148] Abu Haidar, a Syrian FSA co-ordinator in Aleppo's Saif al-Dawla district said that al-Nusra Front "have experienced fighters who are like the revolution's elite commando troops."[149]

In December 2013, al-Nusra abducted 13 nuns from a Christian monastery in Maaloula. They were held in the town of Yabroud until 9 March 2014, The nuns reported they had not been harassed and could keep religious symbols.[150]

As of June 2013, al-Nusra Front had claimed responsibility for 57 of the 70 suicide attacks in Syria during the conflict.[151]

On 28 August 2014, militants from the group kidnapped 45 UN peacekeepers from Fiji from Golan Heights in the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force Zone.[152] The group demanded that it be removed from the UN's list of terrorist organisations in exchange for the lives of the peacekeepers. In addition to UN personnel, the group routinely captures UN vehicles to use as car bombs.[153] At the same time, two groups of UN peacekeepers from Philippines were trapped under fire in nearby Rwihinah.[154] On 31 August, one group of 32 Filipinos soldiers was rescued and the other group of 40 soldiers escaped.[155] The rescue operation was carried out by Irish peacekeepers.[156] Colonel Ezra Enriquez of the Philippines, who oversaw the operations, resigned over disagreements with Indian Lieutenant General Iqbal Singh Singha. Singha had allegedly ordered the Filipinos peacekeepers to surrender arms to ensure the safe release of the Fijian soldiers.[157] On 8 September, Rodrigo Duterte, the mayor of Davao City, called for Singha's death after he allegedly called the Filipinos soldiers cowards.[158] On 11 September, the kidnapped Fijian soldiers were released.[159]

In late October 2014, al-Nusra began attacking some Free Syrian Army and moderate Islamist groups that it was formerly allied with, reportedly in a bid to eventually establish its own Islamic state in the cities it controlled in Idlib Governorate and other neighbouring Governorates.[160][161]

In June 2015, fighters of al-Nusra massacred 20 Druze villagers in Idlib province located in north-west Syria.[162] Al-Jazeera claimed that Al-Nusra's leadership apologized and blamed the incident on a few undisciplined fighters.[163] Foreign Policy noted that Al-Jazeera is engaged in actively whitewashing Al-Nusra and that there is absolutely no reference to the Druze in Al-Nusra's "apology", since Al-Nusrah forced the Druze to renounce their religion, destroyed their shrines and now considers them Sunni.[58][59][60] Nusra and ISIL are both against the Druze, the difference being that Nusra is apparently satisfied with destroying Druze shrines and making them become Sunnis while ISIL wants to violently annihilate them like it did to Yazidis.[61]

Two of The Revolutionary Army fighters were beheaded by Nusra.[164][165][166][167][168][169][170][171]

Nusra fighters celebrated the ransoming and exchange of Lebanese army prisoners in the town of Arsal in Lebanon.[172][173][174]

In October 2015, al-Nusra offered bounties worth millions of dollars for the killing of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.[175] Al-Julani said he would pay "three million euros ($3.4 million) for anyone who can kill Bashar al-Assad and end his story".[176]

Russian air raids (2015–2016)

Russian air strikes reportedly targeted positions held by al-Nusra.[177] Al-Nusra has set a reward for the seizure of Russian soldiers.[178] Russia sees al-Nusra as a terrorist organization.

Abu Ubaid Al-Madani, who speaks Russian, released a video addressed to the Russians warning that they would massacre Russian soldiers.[179] Abu Mohammad al-Julani called for Russian civilians to be attacked by former Soviet Muslims and called for attacks on Alawite villages in Syria.[180][181][182] In November 2015, al-Nusra fighters and Turkish-supported Syrian Turkmen Brigades were engaged in heavy fighting in Syria's northwestern Latakia Governorate against the Syrian government forces supported by the Shiite militias and the Russian air force.[183]

On 24 January 2016, Ahrar ash-Sham expelled al-Nusra Front from the Syrian town of Harem, after tensions between the two groups boiled over. Subsequent clashes erupted in Salqin.[184]

On 17 February, nearly half of Jund al-Aqsa, numbering 400 fighters, joined al-Nusra. Five days later, two Damascus-based jihadist groups swore allegiance to al-Nusra.[22][185] On 25 February, al-Nusra Front withdrew from the town of Sarmada, near the Turkish border in the Idlib Province, in an attempt to prevent Russian warplanes from bombing the town after the implementation of the Syria ceasefire.[186]

As Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (July 2016—present)

In July Jabhat Fatah al-Sham kidnapped the American journalist Lindsey Snell in northern Syria. She escaped to Turkey's Hatay Province in August and was subsequently arrested by Turkish authorities for being in a military exclusion zone and imprisoned.[187]

On 31 August, Hezbollah attacked a JFS outpost in the Qalamoun Mountains near the city of Arsal, Lebanon, on the Lebanon–Syria border, killing a number of their fighters.[188]

On 8 September an airstrike of unknown origin killed the top JFS military commander, Abu Hajer al-Homsi (nom de guerre Abu Omar Saraqeb), among several other Army of Conquest commanders in the countryside of the Aleppo Governorate,[13] the rebels accused the United States of conducting the strike, but this was denied by the Pentagon and subsequently Russia took responsibility.[13]

On 3 October, Ahmad Salama Mabruk, an Egyptian JFS and al-Qaeda commander, was killed by a US airstrike against his vehicle in Jisr al-Shughur.[80]

On 9 October, Jund al-Aqsa, after infighting between them and numerous rebel groups including Ahrar al-Sham, merged with JFS.

Territorial control

Military situation in the Syrian Civil War as of 5 September 2016.
  Controlled by Syrian Government forces
  Controlled by Syrian Democratic Forces (Rojava)
  Controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
  Controlled by al-Nusra Front
  Controlled by Syrian opposition forces

(For a more detailed map, see Cities and towns during the Syrian Civil War)

As of late 2015, al-Nusra controlled territory throughout Idlib Governorate, alongside other factions in the Army of Conquest.[189][190]

External support

At least one Arab government[191] has accused Qatar of helping al-Nusra.[192] According to the Al-Ahram Weekly, "The Saudis and Qataris are to provide funding for 40 per cent of the [Army of Conquest] coalition’s needs".[193] JaN has been cited as an example of groups in the Syrian Civil War that Saudi Arabia has supported that are "most in line with Wahhabi beliefs".[2] The US Government has been sending weapons to rebels in Syria since at least late 2013,[194] and perhaps as early as 2012,[195] during the beginning phases of the conflict. These weapons have been reportedly falling into hands of extremists, such as al-Nusra and ISIL.[196][197][198]

al-Nusra has also been materially supported by multiple foreign fighters. Most of these fighters are from Europe and the Middle East, as pipelines to Syria from those locations are better established and navigable.[199] However, as of November 2013, there were also 6 publicly disclosed cases of American citizens and permanent residents who joined or attempted to join al-Nusrah in 2013 alone.[200]

The Independent reported that Saudi Arabia and Turkey "are focusing their backing for the Syrian rebels on the combined Jaish al-Fatah, or the Army of Conquest, a command structure for jihadist groups in Syria that includes Jabhat al-Nusra."[201]

The Pentagon confirmed in September 2015 that a small group of US-trained New Syrian Forces rebels gave six pickup trucks and a portion of their ammunition to al-Nusra Front in exchange for safe passage.[202]

Contacts between al-Nusra and Israeli forces in the Golan Heights have been documented several times, however the purpose of the meetings remains unknown.[203] Some wounded al-Nusra combatants had received medical aid in Israel and returned to fight. Former head of Mossad, Efraim Halevy, in an interview for al-Jazeera implicitly confirmed that such practices had taken place.[204][205]

Qatari support

The Emir of Qatar publicly admitted, in an interview with Christiane Amanpour, that he doesn’t always see eye to eye with American terrorist designations: "I know that in America and some countries they look at some movements as terrorist movements. ... But there are differences. There are differences that some countries and some people that any group which comes from Islamic background are terrorists. And we don't accept that."[206] It has been suggested that one of the designated groups that the Emir spoke of in this interview at CNN was Al-Nusra Front.[207] According to the Consortium Against Terror Finance (CATF), Qatar has been able to get away with funding Al Nusra, despite their terrorist designation, through Kidnapping for Ransom.[207] Al Nusra has, thus far, kidnapped a diverse group of people from nationalities that span the globe. They have been involved in kidnapping people from Turkey, Fiji, Lebanon, Syria, and Italy among others. In each occasion, Qatar engages in a substantial financial agreement with Al Nusra in exchange for hostages. CATF suggests that the U.S. turns a blind eye to Qatar’s funding of Al Nusra because Al Nusra is one of the only groups that poses a plausible threat to both ISIS and Assad.[207] According to the Institute for the Study of War, the reason why Al Nusra is the only plausible threat is because of Qatar’s funding: "Jabhat al-Nusra has become the best-armed force among the opposition groups. It has been at the tip of the spear in operations in Eastern Syria, Aleppo, and Damascus. Its combat proficiency and relatively greater access to material and funding have led other opposition groups to tolerate its participation in military operations across the country."[208]

Qatar even managed the negotiations with al-Nusra Front that ultimately led to American writer Peter Theo Curtis’s release. Suggesting how happy the country is with its relationship to Al Nusra, Qatari Intelligence Chief Ghanim Khalifa al-Kubaisi was said to have sent a contact a text with the words "Done,"— and a thumbs up emoticon — after Curtis’s release was completed.[209]

According to The Fiscal Times, Qatar has great influence over the group that goes beyond ransom payments. In many cases, Qatar acts as a political mediator between Al Nusra and other countries like Lebanon:[210] "A prisoner swap between the Lebanese government and al-Qaeda's branch in Syria, Al-Nusra Front in early December showed how powerful the group has become on the ground. The deal released 16 Lebanese soldiers and police officers who were captured during a joint ISIS-al-Nusra operation along with 29 civilians, some of whom are known terrorists."[210] Indeed, Qatar’s mediation between Al Nusra and Lebanon ultimately guaranteed al-Nusra freedom of movement inside what was once a safe haven in Lebanon’s Hamid valley, bordering Syria, giving Al Nusra access to the Lebanese town of Arsal.[210]

But one Diplomat goes so far as to suggest that, beyond the scope of mediation and paying ransom, "They [Qatar] are partly responsible for Jabhat al-Nusra having money and weapons and everything they need." The diplomat even goes on to say that while Qatar hasn’t directly funded ISIS, it is responsible for the fact that ISIS gained Al Nusra weapons as members of Al Nusra are known to defect to ISIS.[211]

Qatar’s support of Al Nusra has been highly criticized in both U.S. and U.K media. Indeed, Foreign Policy goes so far as to suggest that Qatar’s support for Al Nusra is just one more example of its hand in further destabilizing the entire region.[209] As a result, Qatar had to suppress some of the more overt Al Nusra fund-raising efforts launched publicly by its citizens. It has been suggested that while Qatar supports Al Nusra, it does so in a way to try and not alienate its Western allies.[212] Fellow Gulf countries Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain have publicly rebuked Qatar for its support of political Islamists like Al Nusra across the Middle East.[209]

Al-Qaeda and Khorasan group

Main article: Khorasan group

Khorasan, also known as the Khorasan Group, is an alleged group of senior al-Qaeda members who operate in Syria.[213] The group is reported to consist of a small number of fighters who are all on terrorist watchlists, and co-ordinate with al-Nusra Front. At an intelligence gathering in Washington, D.C. on 18 September 2014, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper stated that "in terms of threat to the homeland, Khorasan may pose as much of a danger as ISIS."[214] The term first appeared in news media in September 2014, although the United States had reportedly been keeping track of the group for two years previously.[215] Al-Nusra Front leader Abu Mohammad al-Golani denied the existence of this alleged "Khorasan group" in an interview with Al-Jazeera on 28 May 2015.[216]

Weaponry and tactics

An al-Nusra Front battalion training during the Syrian Civil War.

The organisation is believed to have used, at various times and in various places, the following tactics: car-bombs, suicide-attacks, targeting of checkpoints, conventional assault of military bases, assassination of political and military figures and members of the shabiha,[39] targeting (destruction/killing) of pro-government media stations and personnel.

By June 2013, there had been apparently 70 suicide-attacks in Syria. Of these, the group denied responsibility for 13 but claimed responsibility for the other 57. In June 2012, the group attacked the pro-government TV station at Drousha, near Damascus. The following month the government-TV presenter Mohammed al-Saeed disappeared; the group later declared him dead.

In June 2014 Human Rights Watch reported that several rebel groups including al-Nusra have enlisted child soldiers into their ranks.[217]

In November 2014, al-Nusra claimed to have captured U.S.-made TOW anti-tank missiles supplied by the United States to moderate anti-Assad rebels.[218]

Al-Nusra Front allegedly have an elite sniper unit known as the "Wolf Group". Training is conducted in Aleppo by veteran jihadists who belong to the Khorasan Group, a collection of veteran al-Qaeda operatives sent from al-Qaeda strongholds along the Afghan-Pakistan border.[219]

In October 2015, al-Julani called for indiscriminate attacks on Alawite villages in Syria. He said "There is no choice but to escalate the battle and to target Alawite towns and villages in Latakia".[181]

Chemical weapons

On 30 May, Turkish newspapers reported that Turkish security forces had arrested al-Nusra fighters in the southern provinces of Mersin and Adana near the Syrian border and confiscated 2 kg of sarin gas.[220][221][222] The governor of Adana claimed that the security forces had not found sarin gas but unknown chemicals, without offering further elaboration.[223] The Turkish Ambassador to Moscow later said that tests showed the chemical seized was anti-freeze, not sarin.[224] In September six of those arrested in May were charged with attempting to acquire chemicals which could be used to produce sarin; the indictment said that it was "possible to produce sarin gas by combining the materials in proper conditions."[225] The indictment said that "The suspects have pleaded not guilty saying that they had not been aware the materials they had tried to obtain could have been used to make sarin gas. Suspects have been consistently providing conflicting and incoherent facts on this matter." The suspects were said to be linked to al-Nusra and to Ahrar ash-Sham.[226][227]

Designation as a terrorist organisation

Countries and organisations below have listed al-Nusra Front as a terrorist organisation:

Country Date References
 Iran 3 January 2012 [228]
 United States 10 December 2012 [93]
United Nations United Nations Security Council May 2013 [229][230]
 France 30 May 2013 [231]
 Australia 28 June 2013 [232]
 United Kingdom 19 July 2013 [233][234]
 Canada 7 November 2013 [235]
 Saudi Arabia 7 March 2014 [236]
 New Zealand 14 May 2014 [237]
 United Arab Emirates 19 May 2014 [238]
 Turkey 2 June 2014 [230][239]
 Russia 29 December 2014 [240][241][242]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Interview with Official of Jabhat al-Nusra, Syria's Islamist Militia Group". Time. 25 December 2012. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  2. 1 2 Hudson, Valerie. The Hillary Doctrine. Columbia University. p. 154. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  3. ↑ "Jabhat al-Nusra". Australian National Security. 28 June 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  4. ↑ "Jabhat al-Nusra, A Strategic Briefing" (PDF). Quilliam Foundation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 March 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  5. ↑ "Al-Nusra Front". 2012. Retrieved November 2014. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  6. ↑ http://www.rferl.org/a/uzbek-suicide-bomber-syria/27260806.html
  7. ↑ http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2015/09/uzbek-group-pledges-allegiance-to-al-nusrah-front.php
  8. ↑ "ISIS deserters form new militia southern Syria - ARA News". ARA News. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  9. ↑ https://twitter.com/halabinasser1/status/787384157592846337
  10. ↑ https://twitter.com/Abdullahazam245/status/787373381184266240
  11. ↑ https://twitter.com/sayed_ridha/status/788063337875591168
  12. ↑ "TIME Exclusive: Meet the Islamist Militants Fighting Alongside Syria's Rebels". Time. 26 July 2012. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 "Air strike kills top commander of former Nusra group in Syria". Reuters. 9 September 2016.
  14. ↑ "Syria: ISIS tightens grip, Nusra takes losses". Al-Monitor. 2 May 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  15. ↑ Abdallah Suleiman Ali (12 February 2014). "ISIS losing ground in Syria to Jabhat al-Nusra". Al-Monitor. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  16. ↑ Nick Paton Walsh and Laura Smith-Spark (6 November 2014). "Report: Airstrikes target another Islamist group in Syria". CNN. Retrieved November 2014. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  17. 1 2 "Syria's Qaeda leader killed in explosion - ARA News". ARA News.
  18. ↑ "An internal struggle: Al Qaeda's Syrian affiliate is grappling with its identity". Brookings Institution. 31 May 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  19. ↑ "Al Nusra Front claims Lebanon suicide attack". Al Jazeera. 11 January 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  20. ↑ "Foreign fighter group officially joins Al Nusrah Front". 23 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  21. ↑ "Syria crisis: Spooked by rebel gains, Jordan doubles down on Islamic State". 4 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  22. 1 2 "Jund al Aqsa leaders join Al Nusrah Front". The Long War Journal. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  23. ↑ "New Syrian jihadist body formed to fight ISIS". Al Monitor. 28 May 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
  24. 1 2 "Rebels launch full-on assault of Idlib city". Syria Direct. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  25. ↑ http://www.chechensinsyria.com/?p=24656
  26. ↑ "Clashes renewed between Islamist groups near Syria's Hasaka". ARA News. 18 March 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  27. ↑ O'Bagy, Elizabeth (2012). Middle East Security Report: Jihad in Syria (PDF). 6. Washington, DC. p. 27.
  28. 1 2 "Former Guantanamo detainee killed while leading jihadist group in Syria". Long War Journal. 4 April 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  29. ↑ "Syria rebels advance in Hama". ARA News. 12 July 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  30. ↑ Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi (11 May 2014). "Key Updates on Iraq's Sunni Insurgent Groups". Brown Moses Blog. Retrieved February 2015. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  31. ↑ "Who are the Turkmen in Syria?". BBC News. 24 November 2015.
  32. ↑ Mortada, Radwan (19 May 2014). "Hezbollah fighters and the "jihadis:" Mad, drugged, homicidal, and hungry". al-Akhbar English. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  33. ↑ "Jabhat al-Nusra launches war against IS in Qalamoun". CNN. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  34. ↑ "Jabhat al-Nusra, IS clash in Daraa". 16 December 2014. Retrieved 2015. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  35. ↑ "Rebels fight ISIS-linked group near Israeli-occupied Golan". AFP. 28 April 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  36. ↑ "Al-Qaeda defeats Syrian moderate rebels in Idlib". ARA News. 2 November 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  37. ↑ "Jabhat al-Nusra looks for battlefield breakout". As-Safir. 29 March 2015. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  38. 1 2 "Al-Qaeda Upgrades Its Presence in Syria". MEMRI. 25 November 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  39. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Jabhat al-Nusra A Strategic Briefing" (PDF). Quilliam Foundation. 8 January 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  40. 1 2 "Syrian Nusra Front announces split from al-Qaeda". 28 July 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  41. 1 2 "Zawahiri disbands main Qaeda faction in Syria". GlobalPost. 8 November 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  42. ↑ Al Qaeda-linked group Al Nusra Front claims deadly car bombing in Lebanese capital Beirut ABC, 21 January 2014
  43. 1 2 "Islamist group claims Syria bombs 'to avenge Sunnis'". Al Arabiya. 21 March 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  44. 1 2 3 4 Ignatius, David (30 November 2012). "Al-Qaeda affiliate playing larger role in Syria rebellion". The Washington Post. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  45. 1 2 Karouny, Mariam (4 March 2015). "Insight - Syria's Nusra Front may leave Qaeda to form new entity". Reuters. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  46. 1 2 3 "Qaeda in Syria denies plan to break away". Yahoo!News, AFP. 9 March 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  47. 1 2 3 4 5 Lister , Charles (31 May 2015). "An Internal Struggle: Al Qaeda's Syrian Affiliate Is Grappling With Its Identity". Huffington Post. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  48. 1 2 3 Dettmer, Jamie (4 May 2015). "SYRIA'S REBELS ON WINNING STREAK—IN ALLIANCE WITH AL QAEDA". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 4 May 2015. "I think it will happen soon," says Muhamed Nabih Osman, who oversees a charitable association for former Assad prisoners. "You have to understand that al Nusra consists of two very different parts and that one part, mostly local fighters, are not interested in global jihad." [...] But local fighters—who likely make up 80 percent of al Nusra—have been opposed to deal-making with ISIS and have been critical of the harsh governance methods used by some of their pro-ISIS comrades in territory controlled by al Nusra.
  49. ↑ "New enemies across Syrian border". August 2014. Retrieved 2015. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  50. ↑ "The Syrian rebel groups pulling in foreign fighters". 2013. Retrieved 2015. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  51. ↑ al-Khatieb, Mohammed (July 2014). "Jabhat al-Nusra, IS compete for foreign fighters". Al-Monitor. Retrieved 2014. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  52. ↑ "Al-Nusra Front not yet dead as its emir devises "Islamic Emirate of the Levant"". al-akhbar. July 2014. Retrieved 2014. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  53. ↑ "Al-Nusra Front". 2012. Retrieved November 2014. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  54. 1 2 3 4 5 Sherlock, Ruth (2 December 2012). "Inside Jabhat al Nusra - the most extreme wing of Syria's struggle". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  55. 1 2 "Profile: Syria's al-Nusra Front". BBC News. 15 May 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  56. 1 2 "Nusra leader: No end to conflict with ISIL in Syria". Al Jazeera. 4 June 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  57. ↑ Hassan Hassan (4 March 2014). "A jihadist blueprint for hearts and minds is gaining traction in Syria". The National.
  58. 1 2 "Al Nusra's Rebranding and What It Means for Syria - Foreign Affairs". Foreign Affairs.
  59. 1 2 yalibnan. "Al Qaeda forces Druze of Idlib Syria to destroy their shrines and convert". yalibnan.com.
  60. 1 2 Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi. "Additional Notes on the Druze of Jabal al-Summaq". Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi.
  61. 1 2 "Syria Comment » Archives The Plight of Syria's Druze Minority and U.S. Options - Syria Comment". Syria Comment.
  62. ↑ Hubbard, Ben (9 June 2015). "Al Qaeda Tries a New Tactic to Keep Power: Sharing It". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 June 2015. Cooperating with others could also give Al Qaeda a long-term advantage in its competition with the extremists of the Islamic State, analysts said [...] Civilians living in Nusra Front areas, too, say the group has built local support, refraining from imposing Shariah when residents resisted.
  63. ↑ Joscelyn, Thomas (October 25, 2015). "Al Qaeda appears 'moderate' compared to Islamic State, veteran jihadist says". Long War Journal.
  64. ↑ Joscelyn, Thomas (October 26, 2015). "A rare interview with an experienced Al Qaeda commander shows how the group is using ISIS to make itself look 'moderate'". the weekly Standard.
  65. ↑ Joscelyn, Thomas (June 5, 2015). "The Al Nusrah Front's 'inherited jihad'". Long War Journal.
  66. ↑ Joscelyn, Thomas (July 20, 2015). "Officials from Al Nusrah Front, Ahrar al Sham vow to continue fight against Islamic State". Long War Journal.
  67. ↑ JOSCELYN, THOMAS (Feb 9, 2015). "Al Qaeda Uses ISIS to Try to Present Itself as Respectable, Even Moderate". the weekly Standard.
  68. ↑ Joscelyn, Thomas (29 September 2015). "US counterterrorism efforts in Syria: A winning strategy?". Long War Journal.
  69. ↑ "Number of ISIS defectors growing, disillusioned with killing fellow Muslims: Study". The Straits Times. London. Agence France-Presse. 21 September 2015. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015.
  70. ↑ Joscelyn, Thomas (June 29, 2015). "Al Nusrah Front celebrates 9/11 attacks in new video". Long War Journal.
  71. ↑ Joscelyn, Thomas (November 2, 2015). "Al Qaeda chief calls for jihadist unity to 'liberate Jerusalem'". Long War Journal.
  72. ↑ Joscelyn, Thomas (September 13, 2015). "Zawahiri calls for jihadist unity, encourages attacks in West". Long War Journal.
  73. ↑ "Syria's Nusra Front backs Paris attacks, despite opposition to Islamic State". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  74. ↑ "Al-Qaeda leader in Syria speaks to Al Jazeera". Al Jazeera. 19 December 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  75. 1 2 3 4 5 "Who's who in the Nusra Front?". al-Araby. 15 December 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  76. ↑ "About 4500 people including 366 civilians were killed over 17 months since the beginning of US-led coalition airstrikes on Syria". SOHR. 23 February 2016. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  77. ↑ "Syria: Al-Nusra Front spokesman Firas 'killed in air strike'". BBC News.
  78. 1 2 "ISIS reportedly kills Al Nusrah Front's commander for Idlib province". The Long War Journal. 16 April 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  79. ↑ "Syria's cease-fire strengthens al-Qaida branch". Associated Press. 29 May 2016.
  80. 1 2 "Statement by Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook on Strike against al-Qaida Leader". US Department of Defense. 3 October 2016.
  81. ↑ "EXTREMELY GRAPHIC: Drone strike kills Nusra commander in Syria's Idlib". Al-Masdar News. 17 October 2016.
  82. ↑ Chivers, C. J. (5 September 2013). "Brutality of Syrian Rebels Posing Dilemma in West". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  83. 1 2 "California Arrest Underscores Ongoing Concern Over Americans Joining Al Qaeda Abroad". Access ADL. Anti-Defamation League.
  84. ↑ "North Carolina Arrest Marks 6th American in 2013 Associated With Al Qaeda in Syria". Access ADL. Anti-Defamation League.
  85. ↑ "Everything You Need To Know About the New Nusra Front". Time. 28 July 2016.
  86. ↑ "Syrian branch of Al Qaeda rebrands in effort to escape foreign air strikes". ABC News. 29 July 2016.
  87. ↑ "Analysis: Al Nusrah Front rebrands itself as Jabhat Fath Al Sham". The Long War Journal. 28 July 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  88. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Abouzeid, Rania (23 June 2014). "The Jihad Next Door". Politico. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  89. ↑ "Jihadists, weapons 'moving from Iraq to Syria'". Agence France-Presse. 11 February 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  90. ↑ Karam, Zeina (6 July 2012). "Iraq: Al-Qaeda migrates to Syria". Associated Press.
  91. 1 2 3 "With wary eye, Syrian rebels welcome Islamists into their ranks". The Times of Israel. 25 October 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
  92. 1 2 "Syria Conflict: Rebels, Army Battle Over Taftanaz Airbase". The Huffington Post. 3 November 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  93. 1 2 "U.S. Places Militant Syrian Rebel Group on List of Terrorist Organizations". New York Times. 10 December 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  94. ↑ "Islamist groups gaining prominence in Syria fight". USA Today. 14 December 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  95. ↑ "Syrian rebels defy US and pledge allegiance to jihadi group". The Telegraph. London. 10 December 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  96. ↑ "Syrian protesters slam U.S. blacklisting of jihadist group". Daily Star. Agence France-Presse. 14 December 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  97. ↑ "For newly recognized Syrian rebel coalition, a first dispute with US". The Christian Science Monitor. 12 December 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  98. 1 2 "Why Assad is losing". Foreign Policy. 5 May 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  99. ↑ "Free Syrian Army rebels defect to Islamist group Jabhat al-Nusra". The Guardian. London. 8 May 2013.
  100. ↑ "Qaeda in Iraq confirms Syria's Nusra is part of network". Agence France-Presse. 9 April 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  101. 1 2 "ISI Confirms That Jabhat Al-Nusra Is Its Extension In Syria, Declares 'Islamic State Of Iraq And Al-Sham' As New Name of Merged Group". MEMRI. 8 April 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  102. ↑ "Al-Nusra Commits to al-Qaeda, Deny Iraq Branch 'Merger'". Agence France-Presse. 10 April 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  103. ↑ Spencer, Richard (19 May 2013). "Syria: Jabhat al-Nusra split after leader's pledge of support for al-Qaeda". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  104. 1 2 "Iraqi al-Qaeda chief rejects Zawahiri orders". Al Jazeera. 15 June 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  105. ↑ "Insight: Syria's Nusra Front eclipsed by Iraq-based al Qaeda". Reuters. 17 May 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  106. ↑ "PressTV-Al-Nusra leader injured in Syria: report". presstv.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
  107. ↑ "Qaeda chief annuls Syrian-Iraqi jihad merger". Al Jazeera. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
  108. ↑ "Factbox: Syria's rebel groups". Reuters. 9 January 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  109. ↑ Liz Sly (3 February 2014). "Al-Qaeda disavows any ties with radical Islamist ISIS group in Syria, Iraq". The Washington Post. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  110. ↑ "Syria: al-Nusra Front declares war on ISIS". Al Akhbar English. 26 February 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  111. ↑ "Al-Nusra chief killed by rivals in Syria". 16 April 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  112. ↑ "Hundreds killed as ISIL insurgents gain ground in east Syria". Reuters. 10 June 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  113. ↑ "Al Qaeda leaves east Syria strongholds to Islamic State -monitor". Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  114. ↑ "Al Qaeda's rise in southern Syrian pushes moderate rebels to sideline". Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  115. ↑ "Will the 'Emirate of the Levant' be announced on Eid al-Fitr?". Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  116. ↑ "Jabhat al-Nusra, IS compete for foreign fighters". Al-Monitor. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  117. ↑ "Rebels Call on Al Nusra Front to Rethink Establishing its "Emirat". Syrian National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  118. ↑ "Al Nusra Front Has 'Dissociated' from Al Qaeda, Says Abu Muhammad al Julani". International Business Times. 12 February 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  119. ↑ Butler, Desmond (7 May 2015). "Turkey Officials Confirm Pact With Saudi Arabia To Help Rebels Fighting Syria's Assad". Huffington Post. AP. Retrieved 27 August 2015. Turkish officials say they distinguish between international jihadist groups and others with more localized aims. They place al-Sham in the latter category. Moreover, they hope to use al-Sham's rise to put pressure on Nusra to renounce its ties to al-Qaida and open itself to outside help.
  120. ↑ "Nusra Front split from al-Qaeda 'imminent', sources claim". Middle East Eye. 25 July 2016.
  121. ↑ ‘Islamist group post video claiming Syria attacks’. NOW., 29 February 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  122. ↑ "Unknown Islamist group claims suicide attacks in Syria". Al Arabiya. 29 February 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  123. 1 2 Bill Roggio (26 February 2012). "Al Nusrah Front claims suicide attack in Syria". The Long War Journal. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  124. ↑ "Jihadist group claim responsibility for Damascus blasts". ITV News. 12 May 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  125. ↑ "Jihadist group denies claiming Damascus bombings". Dawn. Agence France-Presse. 15 May 2012. Archived from the original on 19 July 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  126. ↑ Gladstone, Rick (30 May 2012). "U.S. Envoy Sees Grim Outcome for Syria". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
  127. ↑ "Militant group claims killing of 13 in Syria". Reuters. 5 June 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  128. ↑ "Terrorist Al-Ayesh, Who Supervised Rigging Car Bombs Detonated in Damascus, Killed". Archived from the original on 31 October 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  129. ↑
  130. ↑ "Seven killed in attack on Syrian TV station". Mail & Guardian. 27 June 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  131. ↑ "Jihadists claim Syria attacks". Associated Press. 4 July 2012. Archived from the original on 8 November 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  132. ↑ "Syrian TV presenter executed - Doha Freedom Centre". dc4mf.org. 5 August 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  133. ↑ "Syrian TV presenter Mohammad al Saeed has been executed by Islamist armed group Al-Nusra, says rights group". Al Jazeera. 4 August 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  134. ↑ "Militant group Al-Nusra claim suicide bombings in Aleppo". Reuters. 4 October 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
  135. ↑ "Militant group Al-Nusra claim suicide bombings in Aleppo". Reuters. 4 October 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  136. ↑ "Sada el-Balad". El-balad.com. 3 October 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  137. ↑ "ABC News:Dozens killed in Aleppo bomb blasts". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 3 October 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  138. ↑ Albert Aji and Zeina Karam (3 October 2012). "Syrian official: 27 killed in Aleppo bombings". Associated Press. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  139. ↑ "Militant group says was behind Aleppo air defense base assault". Reuters. 20 October 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  140. ↑ "Syria, most rebels agree to four-day truce". Afr.com. 25 October 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  141. ↑ "Syrian rebels kill 28 soldiers as fighting continues". The Jordan Times. 1 November 2012. Archived from the original on 28 November 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  142. ↑ Matthew Weaver (2 November 2012). "Syria conflict: rebel 'war crime' caught on video". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  143. ↑ "At least 50 pro-Assad forces killed in Syria suicide bombing, activists say". Haaretz. 5 November 2012. Retrieved 5 November 2012.
  144. ↑ Karouny, Mariam (5 November 2012). "Suicide bomber kills 50 Syrian security men: opposition". Reuters. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  145. ↑ "Syria 'secures chemical weapons stockpile'". Al Jazeera. 23 December 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  146. ↑ "Syrian rebels push offensive for major airport". Ynet. 18 February 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
  147. ↑ "Priest Beheaded on Video By Syrian Jihadists Bears 'No Relation' To Death of Father François Murad [CORRECTION]". International Business Times. 2 July 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  148. ↑ Bill Roggio (4 August 2012). "Al Nusrah Front conducts joint operation with Free Syrian Army". Longwarjournal.org. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  149. ↑ "Syria revolt attracts motley foreign jihadi corps". Agence France-Presse. 18 August 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  150. ↑ Barnard, Anne; Saad, Hwaida (9 March 2014). "Nuns Released by Syrians After Three-Month Ordeal". The New York Times.
  151. ↑ "Suicide bombers kill 14 in Damascus". Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  152. ↑ "UN official defends Indian general in Syrian peacekeeping controversy". Zee News. IANS. 4 September 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  153. ↑ Kais, Roi. "Qaeda-rebels: UN Peacekeepers to be judged according to God." Ynetnews. 5 September 2014. 5 September 2014.
  154. ↑ "UN soldiers seized by rebels in Golan Heights". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  155. ↑ "UN soldiers escape siege by Syria rebels". Al Jazeera. 31 August 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  156. ↑ "Irish troops evacuate Filipino peacekeepers in Syria". The Irish Times. 30 August 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  157. ↑ "UN official defends Indian general in Syrian peacekeeping controversy". 4 September 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  158. ↑ "Duterte: Shoot Undof chief in the head". Inquirer. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  159. ↑ "Syria conflict: Rebels release Fijian UN peacekeepers". BBC News. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  160. ↑ "Islamic State, rival Al Nusra Front each strengthen grip on Syria". Los Angeles Times. 28 November 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  161. ↑ "U.S.-backed Syria rebels routed by fighters linked to al-Qaeda". The Washington Post. 1 November 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  162. ↑ "Syrian civil war: Jabhat al-Nusra's massacre of Druze villagers shows they're just as nasty as Isis". Independent. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  163. ↑ "For Syria's Druze, survival hinges on choosing the right ally". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  164. ↑ "Jenan Moussa on Twitter". Twitter.
  165. ↑ "Jenan Moussa on Twitter". Twitter.
  166. ↑ "jabhatnusraviolation". Twitter.
  167. ↑ "jabhatnusraviolation on Twitter". Twitter.
  168. ↑ "LiveLeak.com - Jabhat Al-Nusra Behead Two Jesh Al-Thowar Syrian Rebels". liveleak.com.
  169. ↑ "LiveLeak.com - *Graphic 18+* Jabhat al-Nusra Behead Captured Moderate Rebel". liveleak.com.
  170. ↑ "jabhatnusraviolation". Twitter.
  171. ↑ "jabhatnusraviolation". Twitter.
  172. ↑ "الجزيرة مباشر on Twitter". Twitter.
  173. ↑ "Jenan Moussa on Twitter". Twitter.
  174. ↑ "Bassem". Twitter.
  175. ↑ "Bounty For Bashar Assad? Al Qaeda Nusra Front Offers $3.4M For Syrian President, $2.3M For Hezbollah's Hassan Nasrallah, Leader Says". International Business Times. 13 October 2015.
  176. ↑ "Nusra Front issues bounties for Assad, Nasrallah". Al Arabiya. 13 October 2015.
  177. ↑ "Russia launches media offensive on Syria bombing". BBC News. 1 October 2015.
  178. ↑ "Al-Qaeda Affiliate Issues Bounty for Capture of Russian Soldiers in Syria". Newsweek. 2 October 2015.
  179. ↑ "Syria's Russian Jihadists Vow To Slaughter Putin's Invading Army". vocativ.com.
  180. ↑ "Russian Embassy shelled in Syria as insurgents hit back". Yahoo News. 13 October 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  181. 1 2 "Syria's Nusra Front leader urges wider attacks on Assad's Alawite areas to avenge Russian bombing". The Daily Telegraph. 13 October 2015.
  182. ↑ "Head of al Qaeda's Syrian branch threatens Russia in audio message". The Long War Journal. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  183. ↑ "After shooting down Russian jet, what's next for Turkey?". Al-Monitor. 26 November 2015.
  184. ↑ "إذاعة النور - الأخبار - "أحرار الشام" تطرد مسلحي "النصرة" من "حارم" واشتباكات بينهما في مدينة سلقين - إذاعة النور". http://www.alnour.com.lb/. External link in |work= (help)
  185. ↑ "2 Damascus-based jihadist groups swear allegiance to Al Nusrah Front". The Long War Journal. 2016-02-22. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  186. ↑ khaled. "جبهة النصرة تخلي مقارها في سرمدا الحدودية مع تركيا منعاً لاستخدامها كذريعة لقصف البلدة". المرصد السورى لحقوق الإنسان.
  187. ↑ "US journalist who escaped Jabhat Fateh Al-Sham captivity, lands in Turkey jail for violating military zone". IB Times. 1 September 2016.
  188. ↑ "Hezbollah kills Jabhat Fateh al Sham militants on Lebanese border". Al-Bawaba. 1 September 2016.
  189. ↑ "Syria rebels capture key Idlib army bases". Al Jazeera English. 15 December 2014. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  190. ↑ "Syria conflict: Rebels seize key Idlib airbase". BBC News. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  191. ↑ David Blair and Richard Spencer (20 September 2014). "How Qatar is funding the rise of Islamist extremists". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  192. ↑ How Qatar seized control of the Syrian revolution Financial Times, 17 May 2013
  193. ↑ "Gulf allies and 'Army of Conquest". Al-Ahram Weekly. 28 May 2015.
  194. ↑ Ernesto Londoño and Greg Miller (11 September 2013). "CIA begins weapons delivery to Syrian rebels - The Washington Post". The Washington Post. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  195. ↑ "U.S. has secretly provided arms training to Syria rebels since 2012". Los Angeles Times. 21 June 2013.
  196. ↑ Lisa Lundquist (27 April 2014). "The shadowy flow of US weapons into Syria". Longwarjournal.org. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  197. ↑ "The terrorists fighting us now? We just finished training them.". The Washington Post. 18 August 2014.
  198. ↑ "US air strikes in Syria driving anti-Assad groups to support Isis". The Guardian. 23 November 2014.
  199. ↑ "American and International Militants Drawn to Syria". Anti-Defamation League.
  200. ↑ "North Carolina Arrest Marks 6th American in 2013 Associated With Al Qaeda in Syria". Access ADL. Anti-Defamation League. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
  201. ↑ Kim Sengupta (12 May 2015). "Turkey and Saudi Arabia alarm the West by backing Islamist extremists the Americans had bombed in Syria". The Independent.
  202. ↑ "US-trained Syria fighters gave equipment to Nusra Front". aljazeera.com. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  203. ↑ "The Enemy Of My Friend Is My Friend: Israel Accepts Billions From The US, But Maintains Ties With Al-Nusra". 2016-08-04. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
  204. ↑ "Report: Israel treating al-Qaida fighters wounded in Syria civil war". 2015-03-15. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
  205. ↑ "Ex-Mossad head on Israel medical aid to al-Nusra Front". 2016-05-31. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
  206. ↑ Krever, Mick (2014-09-25). "Qatar's Emir: We don't fund terrorists". CNN.com. Retrieved 2016-07-28.
  207. 1 2 3 CATF Reports. "Funding Al Nusra Through Ransom: Qatar and the Myth of "Humanitarian Principle" | Consortium Against Terrorist Finance". Stopterrorfinance.org. Retrieved 2016-07-28.
  208. ↑ "The Smart and Right Thing in Syria | Institute for the Study of War". Understandingwar.org. Retrieved 2016-07-28.
  209. 1 2 3 "The Case Against Qatar". Foreign Policy. 2014-09-30. Retrieved 2016-07-28.
  210. 1 2 3 "How Qatar Is Funding al-Qaeda-and Why That Could Help the U.S.". The Fiscal Times. 2015-12-29. Retrieved 2016-07-28.
  211. ↑ Blair, David (2014-09-20). "How Qatar is funding the rise of Islamist extremists". Telegraph. Retrieved 2016-07-28.
  212. ↑ "Qatar's Support of Islamists Alienates Allies Near and Far". The New York Times. 8 September 2014.
  213. ↑ Karouny, Mariam (26 September 2014). "Insight - U.S.-led strikes pressure al Qaeda's Syria group to join with Islamic State". Reuters. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  214. ↑ "US admits there is a much scarier terrorist group than ISIS". RT. 21 September 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  215. ↑ "Syria Airstrikes Failed To Cripple Khorasan Threat". Associated Press. 9 October 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  216. ↑ "Nusra leader: Our mission is to defeat Syrian regime". Al Jazeera. 28 May 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  217. ↑ Deborah E. Bloom. "Syria rebel groups recruit child soldiers, says rights watchdog". CNN. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  218. ↑ "Syria: Al-Nusra Jihadists 'Capture US TOW Anti-Tank Missiles' from Moderate Rebels". International Business Times. 3 November 2014.
  219. ↑ Paraszczuk, Joanna (2 October 2014). "Wolf or Khorasan: Who Was Jabhat al-Nusra's Abu Yusuf al-Turki?". Chechens in Syria. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  220. ↑ McDonnell, Patrick J. (13 September 2013). "Syrian rebel groups sought sarin gas material, Turkish prosecutors say". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  221. ↑ "Report: Police foil al-Nusra bomb attack planned for Adana". Today's Zaman. 30 May 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  222. ↑ Kenneth R. Timmerman, The Daily Caller, 3 September 2013, Congress must ask the right questions on Syrian chemical weapons use
  223. ↑ Burch, Jonathon (30 May 2013). "Turkey arrests 12 in raids on 'terrorist' organization". Reuters. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  224. ↑ "No Chemical Arms Seized from Syrian Militants, Turkish Envoy Says". Global Security Newswire. 5 July 2013. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  225. ↑ Aydınlık, 12 September 2013, Al-Nusra Linked to Chemical Production in Turkey Archived 20 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
  226. ↑ Hurriyet Daily News, 12 September 2013, Syrian rebel groups sought to buy materials for chemical weapons, prosecutors say
  227. ↑ Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times, 13 September 2013, Syrian rebel groups sought sarin gas material, Turkish prosecutors say
  228. ↑ "Jabhat al-Nusra | Australian National Security". Nationalsecurity.gov.au. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  229. ↑ "UN blacklists Syria's al-Nusra Front". Al Jazeera. 31 May 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  230. 1 2 "Turkey lists al-Nusra Front as terrorist organization". Hürriyet Daily News. 3 June 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  231. ↑ ‘Liste unique de gels’. République Française, Trésor Direction Générale, Sanctions financières internationales. Published 28 August 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015. (Click on ‘liste consolidée de gel d'avoirs’; then click on ‘liste unique’:) "Nr. 314: Al-Nusrah Front. [translated:] Designated by the regulation (European Union) nr. 583/2014 of 28 May 2014. Previously, Al-Nusrah was inscribed on the list, between 30 May 2013 and 13 May 2014, in its quality of alias of Al-Qaida in Iraq. Category: terrorism. Rule: Resolution 1989."
  232. ↑ "Australian Government lists anti-Assad Syrian group as terrorist organisation - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 29 June 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  233. ↑ List of Proscribed organisations UK government, 27 March 2015. Retrieved 2 September 2015. Page 6: "The Government laid an Order, in July 2013, which provided that the al-Nusrah Front (ANF) and Jabhat al-Nusrah li-ahl al Sham should be treated as alternative names for the organization which is already proscribed under the name Al Qa'ida."
  234. ↑ "Britain bans Syria's al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front on terrorism grounds". Fox News Channel. 19 July 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  235. ↑ "'Public Safety Canada. Currently listed entities.'". Publicsafety.gc.ca. 20 November 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  236. ↑ "Saudi Arabia lists terrorist groups - Xinhua | English.news.cn". Xinhua News Agency. 8 March 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  237. ↑ (List of) "Designated individuals and organisations" in New Zealand as "terrorist entities". police.govt.nz, (presumably) 26 Nov. 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2015. See page 135: "associated with Al-Qaeda"; page 151: Al-Nusrah Front, "Listed on 14/5/2014".
  238. ↑ "UAE to try nine for recruiting militants to fight in Syria: agency". Reuters. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  239. ↑ Dorian Jones (4 June 2014). "Turkey Designates Al-Nusra Front as a Terrorist Organization". Voice of America. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  240. ↑ "Russia calls on all states to put Islamic State, Jabhat al-Nusra on terrorist lists". Russian News Agency "TASS". Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  241. ↑ "Russia seeks UN ban on oil trade with terrorists in Syria". En.alalam.ir. 2 July 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  242. ↑ "UN threatens sanctions on anyone trading oil with ISIS terrorists – RT News". Russia: RT. 29 July 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/28/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.