Narrative
Narrative of the Organization's History
Narrative of the Organization's History
Leadership, Name Changes, Size Estimates, Resources, Geographic Locations
Ideology, Aims, Political Activities, Targets, and Tactics
First Attacks, Largest Attacks, Notable Attacks
Foreign Designations and Listings, Community Relations, Relations with Other Groups, State Sponsors and External Influences
Mapping relationships with other militant groups over time in regional maps
Liwa al-Haqq’s primary goal was to undermine and oppose the Assad regime.[28] The group was also part of the Islamic Coalition, which sought to implement Shariah law in Syria.[29] The Islamic Coalition also supported the notion that the organization of anti-Assad opposition should be organized only by groups fighting inside Syria.
On September 23, 2013, Liwa al-Haqq joined the Islamic Coalition, a political group that called for the implementation of Shariah law in Syria and for the opposition against the Assad Regime to be run only by groups fighting inside Syria. Liwa al-Haqq also opposed the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, which had the support of the Free Syrian Army’s Syrian National Council, a group comprised mostly of exiled Syrians.[30]
Liwa al-Haqq targeted the Assad regime and its associated forces.[31]
Disclaimer: These are some selected major attacks in the militant organization's history. It is not a comprehensive listing but captures some of the most famous attacks or turning points during the campaign.
There is little publicly available information about the attacks and operations carried out by Liwa al-Haqq. Liwa al-Haqq’s affiliation with multiple coalitions – including the Syrian Islamic Front, the Free Syrian Army, and the Islamic Front – may contribute to underestimates of the number of attacks mounted by the group. The Islamic Front, for example, claimed responsibility for forty-five attacks across Syria between 2012 and 2015, but Liwa al-Haqq’s direct involvement is unknown.[32]
May 8-22, 2013: Liwa al-Haqq cooperated with several other Syrian opposition groups to overtake a government military encampment in the countryside of Idlib. These groups included Jabhat al-Nusra, Ahrar al-Sham, Liwa al-Tawhid, Suqur al-Sham, Liwa al-Hurriya, Deraa al-Thawra, Deraa al-Jabal, and Ahrar al-Shimal (unknown casualties).[33]
June 14, 2013: Liwa al-Haqq worked with Jabhat al-Nusra, Ahrar al-Sham, Liwa al-Tawhid, and Ahrar al-Shimal to take over a military housing complex in Idlib (unknown casualties).[34]
Since December 2015, the United Nations Security Council has tried to assemble a list of terrorist groups in Syria. The United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, and Iraq supported classifying Liwa al-Haqq as a terrorist organization, but they were not able to achieve a unanimous consensus.[35]
Liwa al-Haqq was not a designated terrorist organization by the United States prior to merging with four other organizations (Jabhet Fateh al-Sham, Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zinki, Jaysh al-Sunna, and Jabhat Ansar al-Din) to form Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in January of 2017.[36] Following the merger, the U.S. State Department designated HTS as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on May 31, 2018 because of purported connections to Al-Qaeda in Syria.[37]
There is no publicly available information about the relationship between this group and community in which it resides.
Liwa al-Haqq was active in multiple Syrian umbrella organizations and movements. It was a member of the Syrian Islamic Front (SIF) umbrella organization, which was founded in 2012 to unite Syrian Islamic opposition forces and pursue a Syrian state governed by Shariah law.[38] While the SIF refused to come under the command of the Free Syrian Army’s (FSA) Supreme Military Council (SMC), it regularly coordinated military maneuvers with SMC-affiliated brigades.[39] Liwa al-Haqq was also affiliated with the FSA.[40] However, it began to distance itself from the FSA on September 23, 2013 when it formed the Islamic Coalition with thirteen other opposition groups. The Islamic Coalition was a political group that called for the implementation of Shariah in Syria and for the opposition to the Assad Regime to be run only by groups fighting inside Syria. It also opposed the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, which had the support of the FSA’s Syrian National Council, a group comprised mostly of exiled Syrians.[41] In November 2013, Liwa al-Haqq left the FSA to merge into the newly formed Islamic Front, which coincided with the dissolution of the SIF.[42]
The Islamic Front was the largest alliance of Syrian opposition forces formed during the Syrian civil war to date. Liwa al-Haqq, joined by six other Islamist militant groups (Ahrar al-Sham, Ansar al-Sham, Suqquor al-Sham, Liwa al-Tawhid, Jaysh al-Islam, and the Kurdish Islamic Front), created The Islamic Front with intent to replace the Assad regime with an Islamic government. At its peak, the alliance had 40,000-70,000 fighters.[43] Liwa al-Haqq commander Sheikh Abu Rateb served as the organization’s general secretary until the Islamic Front disbanded in mid-2014 due to disagreements between Ahrar al-Sham and Jaysh al-Islam.[44] In December 2014, Liwa al-Haqq reportedly merged with Ahrar al-Sham.[45] The degree of Liwa al-Haqq’s independence from Ahrar al-Sham from 2014 to 2017 is disputed.
In January 2017, Liwa al-Haqq merged with four other groups to form the umbrella organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). The other groups included Jabhet Fateh al-Sham (formerly Al-Qaeda’s al-Nusra Front), Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zinki, Jaysh al-Sunna, and Jabhat Ansar al-Din. The purpose of this merger was to mend internal conflicts among insurgent groups and strengthen opposition against the Assad Regime.[46] Liwa al-Haqq’s degree of autonomy within HTS today is unknown, but no reports suggest that Liwa al-Haqq has fully abandoned its independence as a faction within HTS.
Some analysts claim that Saudi Arabia played a large role in establishing the Islamic Front, the umbrella organization of which Liwa al-Haqq was a member. The Islamic Front had 40,000-70,000 members at its peak, which made it Syria’s largest alliance of opposition forces.[47]
[1] Roggio, Bill. "Al Nusrah Front Launches Joint Assaults with Numerous Syrian Rebel Groups." Long War Journal. Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, 31 July 2013. Web. 04 Aug. 2014.
[2] Roggio, Bill. "Al Nusrah Front Launches Joint Assaults with Numerous Syrian Rebel Groups." Long War Journal. Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, 31 July 2013. Web. 04 Aug. 2014.
[3] Lund, Aron. "Syria's Salafi Insurgents: The Rise of the Syrian Islamic Front." UI Occasional Papers (n.d.): 31. Swedish Institute of International Affairs, Mar. 2013. Web. 7 Aug. 2014.
[4] Lund, Aron. "Syria's Salafi Insurgents: The Rise of the Syrian Islamic Front." UI Occasional Papers (n.d.): 31. Swedish Institute of International Affairs, Mar. 2013. Web. 7 Aug. 2014.
[5] “Islamic Forces in Syria Announce Establishment of Joint Front Aimed at Toppling Assad, Founding Islamic State; Syrian Website Urges Them to Incorporate All Islamic Forces in Country.” The Middle East Media Research Institute. Memri.org. 26 Dec 2012. 27 Jan. 2020.
[6] “Guide to the Syrian Rebels.” BBC. Bbc.com. 13 Dec. 2013. Web. 26 Jan. 2020.
[7] Atassi, Basma. “Major Syrian rebel groups join forces.” Al Jazeera. 22 Nov. 2013. Web. 26 Jan. 2020.
[8] “Factbox: Syrian rebels against opposition coalition.” Reuters. Thomas Reuters, 25 Sep. 2013. Web. 21 Jul. 2016; Oweis, Khaled Yacoub. "Insight: Saudi Arabia Boosts Salafist Rivals to Al Qaeda in Syria." Reuters. N.p., 01 Oct. 2013. Web. 07 Aug. 2014; “Key Syrian rebels reject National Coalition.” Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera, 25 Sep. 2013. Web. 7 Jul. 2016.
[9] Atassi, Basma. “Major Syrian rebel groups join forces.” Al Jazeera. 22 Nov. 2013. Web. 26 Jan. 2020.
[10] Lang, Hardin et al. “Supporting the Syrian Opposition: Lessons from the Field in the Fight Against ISIS and Assad.” Center for American Progress. Cdn. Americanprogress.org. Sept. 2014. Web. 27 Jan. 2020.
[11] "Guide to the Syrian Rebels." BBC News. N.p., 13 Dec. 2013. Web. 05 Aug. 2014; Lund, Aron. “Islamist Mergers in Syria: Ahrar al-Sham Swallows Suqour al-Sham.” Syria In Crisis. The Carnegie Endowment For International Peace, 23 mar. 2015. Web. 30 Apr. 2016.
[12] Lund, Aron. “Islamist Mergers in Syria: Ahrar al-Sham Swallows Suqour al-Sham.” Syria In Crisis. The Carnegie Endowment For International Peace, 23 mar. 2015. Web. 30 Apr. 2016.
[13] Lund, Aron. “Islamist Mergers in Syria: Ahrar al-Sham Swallows Suqour al-Sham.” Syria In Crisis. The Carnegie Endowment For International Peace, 23 mar. 2015. Web. 30 Apr. 2016; “Syria Frontlines Update.” Syria Conflict Mapping Project. The Carter center, 9 Oct. 2015. Web. 13 May. 2016; Rifai, Ryan. “Syrian group claims control of Idlib province.” Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera, 9 Jun. 2015. Web. 30 Apr. 2016.
[14] Ghanem, Mohammed Alaa. “Syria: An Opportunity in Idlib.” Atlantic Council. 3 Apr. 2015. Web. 27 Jan. 2020.
[15] Joscelyn, Thomas. “Al Qaeda and allies announce ‘new entity’ in Syria.” The Long War Journal. Foundation for Defense of Democracies. 28 Jan. 2017. Web. 9 May. 2019. Davison, John and Boulton, Ralph. “Syria Islamist factions, including former al Qaeda branch, join forces: statement.” Reuters. Thomas Reuters. 28 Jan. 2017. Web. 9 May. 2019.
[16] “Amendments to the Terrorist Designations of al-Nusrah Front.” U.S. Department of State. 31 May 2018. Web. 9 May 2019.
[17] “Amendments to the Terrorist Designations of al-Nusrah Front.” U.S. Department of State. 31 May 2018. Web. 9 May 2019.
[18] Joscelyn, Thomas. “Hay’at Tahrir al Sham leader calls for ‘unity’ in Syrian insurgency.” Long War Journal, February 10, 2017.
[19] “Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).” Csis.org. Center for Strategic and International Studies. 2018. Web. 4 Nov. 2019.
[20] "Guide to the Syrian Rebels." BBC News. N.p., 13 Dec. 2013. Web. 05 Aug. 2014.
[21] Lund, Aron."Syria's Salafi Insurgents: The Rise of the Syrian Islamic Front." UI Occasional Papers (n.d.): 31. Swedish Institute of International Affairs, Mar. 2013. Web. 7 Aug. 2014.
[22] Lund, Aron."Syria's Salafi Insurgents: The Rise of the Syrian Islamic Front." UI Occasional Papers (n.d.): 33. Swedish Institute of International Affairs, Mar. 2013. Web. 7 Aug. 2014.
[23] Lund, Aron."Syria's Salafi Insurgents: The Rise of the Syrian Islamic Front." UI Occasional Papers (n.d.): 33. Swedish Institute of International Affairs, Mar. 2013. Web. 7 Aug. 2014.
[24] Lund, Aron. "Syria's Salafi Insurgents: The Rise of the Syrian Islamic Front." UI Occasional Papers (n.d.): 31. Swedish Institute of International Affairs, Mar. 2013. Web. 7 Aug. 2014; Lund, Aron. "Holy Warriors." Foreign Policy (n.d.): n. page. 15 Oct. 2012. Web. 18 Jul. 2014.
[25] "Guide to the Syrian Rebels." BBC News. N.p., 13 Dec. 2013. Web. 05 Aug. 2014.
[26] Lund, Aron. “Islamist Mergers in Syria: Ahrar al-Sham Swallows Suqour al-Sham.” Syria In Crisis. The Carnegie Endowment For International Peace, 23 mar. 2015. Web. 30 Apr. 2016.
[27] Roggio, Bill. "Al Nusrah Front Launches Joint Assaults with Numerous Syrian Rebel Groups." Long War Journal. Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, 31 July 2013. Web. 04 Aug. 2014; “Islamic State closes in on Syrian city of Aleppo.” Reuters. CNBC, 10 Oct. 2015. Web. 21 Jul. 2016.
[28] Zellin, Aaron. "The Syrian Islamic Front: A New Extremist Force." The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. N.p., 4 Feb. 2013. Web. 08 Aug. 2014.
[29] “Key Syrian rebels reject National Coalition.” Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera, 25 Sep. 2013. Web. 7 Jul. 2016.
[30] “Factbox: Syrian rebels against opposition coalition.” Reuters. Thomas Reuters, 25 Sep. 2013. Web. 21 Jul. 2016; Oweis, Khaled Yacoub. "Insight: Saudi Arabia Boosts Salafist Rivals to Al Qaeda in Syria." Reuters. N.p., 01 Oct. 2013. Web. 07 Aug. 2014; “Key Syrian rebels reject National Coalition.” Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera, 25 Sep. 2013. Web. 7 Jul. 2016.
[31] Lund, Aron."Syria's Salafi Insurgents: The Rise of the Syrian Islamic Front." UI Occasional Papers (n.d.): 31. Swedish Institute of International Affairs, Mar. 2013. Web. 7 Aug. 2014.
[32] “Islamic Front: Incidents Over Time.” Global Terrorism Database. Start.umd.edu. Web. 27 Jan. 2020.
[33] Roggio, Bill. "Al Nusrah Front Launches Joint Assaults with Numerous Syrian Rebel Groups." Long War Journal. Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, 31 July 2013. Web. 04 Aug. 2014.
[34] Roggio, Bill. "Al Nusrah Front Launches Joint Assaults with Numerous Syrian Rebel Groups." Long War Journal. Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, 31 July 2013. Web. 04 Aug. 2014.
[35] Miles, Tom and Irish, John. “Syrian terrorist list produces 163 names and no agreement.” Reuters. Thomas Reuters, 17 Feb. 2016. Web. 28 May. 2016; “Countries List Of Armed Groups Acting In Syria.” Reuters. Thomas Reuters, 2016. Web. 7 May. 2016.
[36] Lund, Aron. "Syria's Salafi Insurgents: The Rise of the Syrian Islamic Front." UI Occasional Papers (n.d.): 31. Swedish Institute of International Affairs, Mar. 2013. Web. 7 Aug. 2014. Joscelyn, Thomas. “Al Qaeda and allies announce ‘new entity’ in Syria.” The Long War Journal. Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. 28 Jan. 2017. Web. 9 May 2019.
[37] “Amendments to the Terrorist Designations of al-Nusrah Front.” U.S. Department of State. 31 May 2018. Web. 9 May 2019.
[38] Zellin, Aaron. "The Syrian Islamic Front: A New Extremist Force." The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. N.p., 4 Feb. 2013. Web. 08 Aug. 2014; Zelin, Aaron, and Charles Lister. "The Crowning of the Syrian Islamic Front." Foreign Policy. N.p., 24 Jun. 2013. Web. 18 Jul. 2014.
[39] Guide to the Syrian Rebels. BBC News. N.p., 13 Dec. 2013. Web. 20 Jul. 2014.
[40] Roggio, Bill. "Al Nusrah Front Launches Joint Assaults with Numerous Syrian Rebel Groups." Long War Journal. Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, 31 July 2013. Web. 04 Aug. 2014.
[41] “Factbox: Syrian rebels against opposition coalition.” Reuters. Thomas Reuters, 25 Sep. 2013. Web. 21 Jul. 2016. Oweis, Khaled Yacoub. "Insight: Saudi Arabia Boosts Salafist Rivals to Al Qaeda in Syria." Reuters. N.p., 01 Oct. 2013. Web. 07 Aug. 2014. “Key Syrian rebels reject National Coalition.” Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera, 25 Sep. 2013. Web. 7 Jul. 2016.
[42] Roggio, Bill. “4 battalions from Qatar-backed Islamist brigade defect to wage ‘armed jihadist struggle.’” The Long War Journal. Foundation for Defense of Democracies. 5 Dec. 2013. Web. 21 Jul. 2016. Lund, Aron. The Politics of the Islamic Front, Part 1: Structure and Support." Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. N.p., 14 Jan. 2014. Web. 01 Jul. 2014.
[43] Lund, Aron. “The Politics of the Islamic Front, Part 1: Structure and Support." Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. N.p., 14 Jan. 2014. Web. 01 Jul. 2014; Hassan, Hassan. “Front to Back.” Foreign Policy. The FP Group, 4 Mar. 2014. Web. 7 May, 2016.
[44] "Guide to the Syrian Rebels." BBC News. N.p., 13 Dec. 2013. Web. 05 Aug. 2014; Lund, Aron. “Islamist Mergers in Syria: Ahrar al-Sham Swallows Suqour al-Sham.” Syria In Crisis. The Carnegie Endowment For International Peace, 23 mar. 2015. Web. 30 Apr. 2016.
[45] Lund, Aron. “Islamist Mergers in Syria: Ahrar al-Sham Swallows Suqour al-Sham.” Syria In Crisis. The Carnegie Endowment For International Peace, 23 mar. 2015. Web. 30 Apr. 2016.
[46] Joscelyn, Thomas. “Al Qaeda and allies announce ‘new entity’ in Syria.” The Long War Journal. Foundation for Defense of Democracies. 28 Jan. 2013. Web. 9 May. 2019. Davison, John and Boulton, Ralph. “Syria Islamist factions, including former al Qaeda branch, join forces: statement.” Reuters. Thomas Reuters. 28 Jan. 2013. Web. 9 May. 2019.
[47] Hussein, Tam. "The Ansar Al-Sham Battalions." Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. N.p., 24 Mar. 2014. Web. 07 Aug. 2014; Lund, Aron. "The Politics of the Islamic Front, Part 1: Structure and Support." Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. N.p., 14 Jan. 2014. Web. 07 Aug. 2014.