Jaysh al-Jihad

Last updated
Jaysh al-Jihad
جيش الجهاد
LeadersAbu Mussab Al-Fanussy
Dates of operationFebruary 2015 [1] – 21 May 2016
HeadquartersAl-Qahtaniyah, Quneitra [1]
Active regions Quneitra Governorate and Daraa Governorate, Syria [1]
Ideology Salafi Jihadism
Size500 [1]
Part ofAQMI Flag asymmetric.svg Islamic State (allegedly)
Allies Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade
Opponents
Battles and wars Syrian Civil War

Jaysh al-Jihad (Jihad Army) was an Islamist rebel group based in Quneitra Governorate. The group formed from the merger of 7 small independent groups and factions that defected from Nusra Front after it clashed with the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade in December 2014. These groups were: Jihad Brigades, Jamaat Jund al-Islam, Jamaat Abu Baseer, Mujahideen of al-Sham movement, Jamaat Shabab Ahl al-Sunnah, Nurayn Brigade, and Jamaat Bunyan al-Marsous. [1]

The group had been accused by other Syrian rebel groups of being affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). [6] [7] In April 2015, violent clashes broke out between the group and the Free Syrian Army and al-Nusra Front, after Jaish al-Jihad militants ambushed and killed six FSA fighters at a checkpoint in Quneitra. [8] By 6 May 2015, Nusra and other rebel groups announced that they had cleared al-Qahtaniyah and Quneitra city of Jaysh al-Jihad forces. [1]

In May 2016, remnants of Jaysh al-Jihad joined with two other Pro-ISIL factions in Southern Syria, the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade and Islamic Muthanna Movement, to form the Khalid ibn al-Walid Army. [9]

See also

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References

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