Hurras al-Din
Tanzim Hurras al-Din (Arabic: تنظيم حراس الدين, romanized: Tanẓīm Ḥurrās ad-Dīn, lit. 'Guardians of Religion Organization') also known as Al-Qaeda in Syria,[20] is a Salafi Jihadist organization fighting in the Syrian Civil War. The group's head, Abu Humam al-Shami was the general military commander of the defunct al-Nusra Front, and had fought for Al-Qaeda in 1990s Afghan civil war and the Iraqi insurgency.[21][22] Hurras al-Din was established by the leaders of the AQ-affiliated Khorasan group and Al-Qaeda loyalists of Al-Nusra Front who opposed Jabhat Fatah al-Sham 's dissolution and merger with other Islamic groups to form Tahrir al-Sham.[23] Abu Humam Al-Shami announced the formation of Hurras al-Din on 27 February 2018.[24][3][25][26]
Abu Jilibib Tubasi and Abu Khadija al-Urduni, members of the Guardians of Religion's shura council, left Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (JFS) in 2016 due to its disassociation from al-Qaeda and emphasis on local Syrian politics.[27] In 2017, JFS officially disbanded and merged with Noor al-Deen al-Zenki, Liwa al-Haqq, Ansar al-Din Front, Jaysh al-Sunna and elements of Ahrar al-Sham to form Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).[28] Following a series of assassinations of HTS leaders in 2017; AQ leaders Abu Mussab al-Libi, Abu Julaybib al-Ordoni, and Sami al-Oraydi were arrested by HTS in November 2017,[29][30] in an attempt to stave off the formation of another al-Qaeda affiliated group in Syria.[28]
In November 2017, Jaysh al-Badia and Jaysh al-Malahim defected from HTS, pledging allegiance to Al-Qaeda and launched military operations to expand its influence in Idlib.[11] This brought them into conflict with HTS, which was making efforts to unite Idlib under a civilian administration. HTS accused Al-Qaeda of undermining the Syrian revolution and responded by initiating an anti-AQ crackdown, arresting several leaders of Al-Qaeda Central.[28][11] On 27 February 2018, Jaysh al-Badia, Jaysh al-Malahim and Jaysh al-Sahel united under the leadership of Abu Humam al-Shami to form Hurras al-Din; announcing its allegiance to Al-Qaeda. In a statement, Hurras al-Din called upon all Islamist factions to set aside differences and launch a co-ordinated military response in the wake of horrific atrocities of Assad regime during its Siege of Eastern Ghouta.[31]
While the organization officially rejects infighting between other rebel groups, it has been entangled in armed conflict with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham since 2020.[32] In 2019, Hurras al-Din was reported to be at its height of power, with around 2,500 armed fighters under its command. After its full-frontal conflict with HTS since 2020, it has suffered countless losses and has been subsequently expelled from Idlib. The group now mostly operate clandestinely in various parts of Syria; calling for operations against forces of the Ba'athist regime, Russia as well as against United States and its allies. It has also urged Palestinian Islamist groups to step up its insurgency against Israel to "liberate Al-Aqsa Mosque".[7]
History[edit]
In February 2018, the group stated that it is opposed to the fighting between the Syrian Liberation Front and Tahrir al-Sham. However Jaysh al-Sahel, which is part of the Guardians of Religion Organization said that it will fight the SLF if the towns of Muhambal, Bisanqul, and Kafr Shalaya are attacked.[33]
On 26 April 2018, the Guardians of Religion Organization, along with Ansar al-Tawhid, and Jaysh al-Izza, launched a joint attack against Syrian Government forces in the northern countryside of the Hama Governorate.[14]
On 12 October 2018, the Russian government's reconciliation center in Syria accused the group of hoarding materials needed to develop chemical weapons for a false flag attack as well as being an ISIL affiliate.[34] Along with Russian officials accusing the group of being an ISIL affiliate Iraqi media has claimed the group is also an ISIL affiliate operating along the Syrian-Iraqi border, however the group's base of operations is in the Idlib governorate of Syria, the group has not claimed any attacks outside the region nor have any other reports of activity outside of Syria been reported.[35][36]
On 15 October 2018, the group published a video filmed in Saraqib which showed the group's religious police, the hisbah, driving around the city with loudspeakers calling on people to adhere to sharia.[2]
On 29 December 2018, one of the group's founders, named Abu Julaybib, was killed by government forces in the Daraa Governorate while preparing to establish an insurgent cell linked to the group in southern Syria.[5]
On 30 June 2019, in a rare operation against non-ISIL elements, the U.S. carried out a strike against an al-Qaeda in Syria (AQ-S) leadership meeting at a training facility west of Aleppo,[18] which killed eight jihadists from the Guardians of Religion Organization, including six commanders: two Tunisians, two Algerians, an Egyptian and a Syrian.[17] It was the first known U.S. strike in western Syria since February 2017 due to the U.S. and Russia arranging an unofficial deconfliction boundary that largely bars any substantial U.S. forces from venturing into the region. The U.S. did not specify what assets were used in the strike.[37]
On 31 August 2019, the U.S. carried out a series of airstrikes on a Rouse the Believers Operations Room meeting between Kafriya and Maarrat Misrin, killing over 40 Guardians of Religion militants, including several leaders.[38][39]
On 27 October 2019, members of the group were killed during a US raid targeting ISIL's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Barisha. A commander of the group named Abu Muhammad al-Halabi, the owner of the house Baghdadi was staying at, was killed during the raid.[40] An Iraqi intelligence official and Hisham al-Hashimi have stated to The Independent that Halabi was also a smuggler, which is why the ISIL head and his family utilized his services.[41]
On 10 March 2020, The Guardians of Religion Organization raided the town of Tanjarah, which was under control of the Syrian Army, and captured the town. Heavy fighting took place following a counterattack by the Syrian army to retake the town. 35 soldiers of the Syrian Army and 13 HaD fighters were killed in the fighting.[42]
After a fallout within the Rouse the Believers Operation Room, the group joined four other jihadist groups on 12 June 2020 to form the "Be Steadfast Operation Room."[43]
On 23 June, after putting up checkpoints around Idlib and refusing to take them down at Hayat Tahrir al-Sham requests an open conflict began between the two groups.[44] The conflict killed 18 member of Hurras al-Din, 11 members of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, and one civilian.[45][46]
On 1 January 2021, the group attacked a Russian military base in the northern part of the Raqqa Governorate, in an area held by the Syrian Democratic Forces. The attack was notable for being carried outside of the group's main areas of operation in the Idlib Governorate.[47] During the attack, five members of the group were killed carrying out suicide bombings and injuring between two and three Russian soldiers at the base.[48]
Analysis[edit]
It is thought by the Israeli Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center that the formation of the group will weaken HTS.[70] Alexander Sehmer of the Jamestown Foundation has stated that Guardians of the Religion Organization gives Al Qaeda the best opportunity to improve its fortunes in Syria.[71]