Ahfad al-Rasul Brigade

Ahfad al-Rasul Brigade
لألوية أحفاد الرسول
Participant in Syrian civil war

Official logo of the Ahfad al-Rasul Brigade
Active July 2012–Early 2014 (defunct)[1]
Ideology Sunni Islamism[2]
Leaders Ziad Haj Obaid[3]
Area of operations Raqqa Governorate, Syria[4]
Idlib Governorate, Syria[5]
Strength 7,000–9,000[6]
Part of Euphrates Islamic Liberation Front (formerly)[7]
Allies Kurdish Islamic Front (formerly)
Ahrar ash-Sham
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (formerly)[8]
Opponents Syrian Armed Forces
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria[4]
Battles and wars Syrian civil war

The Ahfad al-Rasul Brigade (Arabic: لألوية أحفاد الرسول‎‎ Lā‘lwīt Aḥfād ar-Rasūl, "Grandsons of the Prophet") was a Syrian rebel group fighting against the Syrian government in the Syrian Civil War.It has been funded by the Qatari government.[9][10]

Its notable subgroups included Al-Haqq battalion, Shuhada al-Jolan Battalion, Suqour al-Jolan Battalion and the Suqour Jabal al-Zawiya battalion.[3] By August 2013, the group had coopted some 50 groups from across Syria; however, it was strongest in Idlib Governorate.[5]

Ahfad al-Rasul took part in the 2 September 2012 bombing that targeted the Syrian Army General Staff building in Damascus. Its leader, Ziad Haj Obaid, was on the Arms Committee for the Supreme Military Command.[3]

By early 2014, the Ahfad al-Rasoul was being described as defunct, with many subunits rebranding themselves as members of the Syria Revolutionaries Front.[1] Former members of the group are also part of the 1st Coastal Division.[11]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Aron Lund (14 February 2014). "Syria's Southern Spring Offensive". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  2. ↑ "Alwiya Ahfaad ar-Rasool: A Growing Force in the Syrian Armed Opposition | Fair Observer°". Fairobserver.com. 25 September 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 O'Bagy, Elizabeth (24 March 2013). "The Free Syrian Army" (PDF). Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  4. 1 2 "The end of the rebel alliance?". Al Jazeera English. 15 September 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  5. 1 2 Lund, Aron (27 August 2013). "The Non-State Militant Landscape in Syria". CTC Sentinel. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  6. ↑ "Syria crisis: Guide to armed and political opposition". BBC. 13 December 2013.
  7. ↑ "The new face of the Syrian rebellion". The Arab Chronicle. 5 March 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  8. ↑ "Syrian Kurds' struggle for autonomy threatens rebel effort to oust Assad". New York Times. 26 July 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  9. ↑ "The Structure and Organization of the Syrian Opposition". Center for American Progress. 14 May 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  10. ↑ Basma Atassi (16 December 2013). "Syrian fighter defects to Qaeda-linked group - Features". Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  11. ↑ "The Moderate Rebels: A Complete and Growing List of Vetted Groups Fielding TOW-Missiles". 22 November 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2015.

External links

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