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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