Liwa al-Haqq (Idlib)
Liwa al-Haqq (Arabic: لواء الحق بريف إدلب, Right Brigade or Truth Brigade), is a Syrian Islamist rebel group that was active during the Syrian Civil War until joining Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in 2017.[2]
This article is about the Liwa al-Haqq group in Idlib. For the Homsi Liwa al-Haqq, see Liwa al-Haqq (Homs, Syria).Liwa al-Haqq (Idlib)
History[edit]
On 31 October 2014, amid fighting between al-Nusra and the western-backed Hazzm Movement and Syrian Revolutionaries Front, Liwa al-Haqq along with 13 other rebel groups in Idlib established a peace keeping force to mediate the conflict between al-Nusra and the western backed groups, among the peace keeping factions included Ahrar al-Sham, Jaysh al-Islam, Suqour al-Sham and the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement.[7]
In May 2015, Liwa al-Haqq was part of a joint rebel offensive alongside the al-Nusra Front, Ajnad al-Kavkaz, Jund al-Aqsa, and Faylaq al-Sham against the Syrian government in northwestern Syria, that eventually led to the rebel takeover of much of the Idlib Governorate, including the governorate's capital Idlib.[8]
In September 2015, In response to reports of Russian intervention, Liwa al-Haqq commander Abu Abdullah Taftanaz posted a tweet addressing "infidel Russians", and threatening to "slaughter you like pigs."[9]
In October 2015, a Russian air raid targeted a Liwa al-Haqq base in the Raqqa Governorate using KAB-500KR precision-guided bombs, reportedly killing two senior ISIL commanders and up to 200 militants.[10]
In November 2015, Liwa al-Haqq and al-Nusra both released photos of an American made Humvee captured from an Iranian-backed Iraqi Shiite militia in southern Aleppo, that was believed to be Kataib Hezbollah.[11][12]
In early May 2016, Liwa al-Haqq took part in a campaign part of the Army of Conquest coalition in southern Aleppo, during the offensive al-Nusra deployed SVBIEDs targeting Shiite militia fighters in the area, and Jund al-Aqsa carried out separate attacks in coordination with al-Nusra and the Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria during the offensive.[13]
On 28 January 2017, Liwa al-Haqq, alongside the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement, Jabhat Ansar al-Din, Jaysh al-Sunna and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, which was formerly al-Nusra until disengaging from al-Qaeda and rebranding in 2016, together merged to form Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.[14]
In June 2018, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham arrested several members of ISIL-linked cells in eastern Idlib, including cells affiliated Liwa Dawud which pledged allegiance to ISIL in 2014 and members of Liwa al-Haqq.[15]