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Al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri The Coordinator 2015 Part 4-1-Syria- Nusra-Front-2

Jaysh al Fateh, the “Battle of Victory” The truth, however, is that al-Nusra is not merely “al-Qaeda-linked” but that it is al-Qaeda itself

LWJ, In its eulogy for Rubaish, Jund al Aqsa also specifically addressed al Qaeda’s senior leaders. The group described Nasir al Wuhayshi, who serves as both the emir of AQAP and al Qaeda’s global general manager, as the “honorable emir and veteran leader.” Jund al Aqsa regards al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri as the “wise and rightly-guided sheikh,” according to the eulogy.

Ibrahim Mansour confirmed in interview that by extension of the parent organization in Pakistan’s tribal agencies of north and South Waziristan, the TIP fighters in Syria have bayat (allegiance) to Mullah Muhammad Omar of the Taliban. The TIP is not the only group fighting in Syria with allegiance to Mullah Omar; the Uzbek Imam Bukhari Jamaat swore bayat to the Taliban back in early November. Imam Bukhari Jamaat also took part in the recent fighting at Jisr al Shughur. The jihadist group further confirms its place within al Qaeda’s international network by its role in fighting alongside al Qaeda’s official branch and other allied groups in Syria. C: Is Mullah Omar’s hand reaching in the Daesh Caliphate? Is this the early prelude of something we missed by Omar and the TB maneuvering under the radar? It may be far out but predictions could be in play, remember the leader of the Army from the East will reach Allepo…

According to the Washington Post, “an unexpectedly cohesive rebel coalition called the Army

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of Conquest” has risen in the last month and managed to roll back President Bashar al-Assad’s troops in several of its strongholds. The alliance comprises the al-Qaida-linked group Jabhat al-Nusra together with a constellation of smaller Islamist and secular battalions. It is reportedly focused on beating back Assad’s army as well as the Islamic State terror group. Meanwhile, training has begun for a US-backed rebel force to push against Islamic State, as the group continues to hold significant territory in eastern Syria and western Iraq. After spending 10 months in preparation for the start of training, US officials are now downplaying their hopes for the force, telling Reuters that a “reluctant” President Barack Obama has not yet decided whether to support the rebels with U.S. military strength. The training effort was conceived to complement the ongoing unauthorized American bombing campaign against Islamic State militants. But once the hundreds-strong group is trained, and forced to contend against IS as well as Assad’s forces and the Saudi-backed “Army of Conquest,”  the U.S. may wind up leaving it alone and hope for the best. As one rebel commander told Reuters, “You can’t throw a man who can’t swim into the sea and ask him to swim.”

You can't tell the players without a program, and it's no wonder that people feel confused by the plethora of names the terrorist groups use. To make matters worse, they keep splitting, and sometimes they change their names just for the hell of it. So here's a cut-out guide you can stick on your wall. Everybody likes to pontificate about terrorism, but you can be the best-informed terrorism expert on your block. In the beginning there was al-Qaida, starting in about 1989. There were lots of other terrorist startups in the Arab world around the same time, but eventually almost all of them either died out or joined one of the big franchises. Al-Qaida is the one to watch, since the success of its 2001 attacks on the United States on 9/11 put it head and shoulders above all its rivals. When the United States invaded Iraq in 2003 and foreign jihadis flocked into the Sunni Arab parts of the country to help the resistance, they sought to affiliate themselves with al-Qaida to boost their appeal. In 2004 Osama bin Laden agreed to allow them to use the name al-Qaida in Iraq, although there was little co-ordination between the two organizations. In 2006 al-Qaida in Iraq formally changed its name to Islamic State in Iraq (ISI), but it didn't really begin to prosper until a new leader, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, took over in 2010. Soon afterwards the Syrian civil war broke out, and Baghdad sent a Syrian member of ISI, Abu Muhammad al Golani, into Syria to organize a branch there.It was called the Nusra Front. The Nusra Front grew very fast -- so fast that by 2013 Baghdadi decided to reunite the two branches of the organization under the new name Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). But this meant Golani was being demoted to the manager of the Syrian branch, so he declared his independence and asked to join al-Qaida, which leaves its affiliates largely free to make their own decisions. Al-Qaida's leader, Ayman al Zawahiri (by now bin Laden was dead), backed Al Nusra because he felt that creating an Islamic state, as Baghdadi intended, was premature. Baghdadi thereupon broke relations with Al-Qaida, and in early 2014 the Nusra Front and ISIS went to war. Thousands of Islamist fighters were killed, and after four months it was clear that ISIS could hold eastern Syria but could not conquer the Nusra Front in the west of the country. The two rival organizations agreed to a ceasefire -- and two months later, in June 2014, ISIS used its battle-hardened forces to invade Iraq. The Iraqi army collapsed, and by July ISIS controlled the western third of Iraq.Counting its Syrian territories as well, ISIS now ruled over 10-12 million people, so Baghdadi dropped the "Iraq and Syria" part of the name and declared that henceforward it would just be known as Islamic State. Soon after he declared himself caliph, and therefore commander of all the world's Muslims. Some jihadis in other countries, most notably Boko Haram in Nigeria, declared their allegiance to "Caliph Ibrahim" and Islamic State, while others -- the Nusra Front, Al Shabaab in Somalia, and the various al-Qaida branches in Yemen, Egypt, the Maghreb and elsewhere -- stayed loyal to the older organization. So there you have it: two

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rival franchises competing for the loyalty of all the other jihadi organizations. There's not really much difference between them ideologically or practically, but the franchise wars will continue. I hope that helps. -- Gwynne Dyer is an independent journalist living in London, England.

An al Qaeda front group in SyriaBY THOMAS JOSCELYN | May 2, 2015 | tjoscelyn@gmail.com | @thomasjoscelyn

On April 26, Jund al Aqsa, a jihadist group based in Syria, posted a martyrdom notice for its “military commander” on its official Twitter feed. (The tweet, in Arabic, can be seen above.) Of course, jihadist groups frequently mourn their members and leaders on social media. But the identity of this particular commander was especially noteworthy. Adel Radi Saker al Wahabi al Harbi was a senior al Qaeda operative wanted by the US government, which offered a reward of $5 million for information leading to his whereabouts. According to the US Treasury Department, al Harbi had served as the deputy leader of al Qaeda’s network in Iran prior to relocating to Syria. As The Long War Journal reported on April 20, well-connected jihadists claimed that al Harbi, a Saudi, had been killed while fighting in Idlib. At the time, jihadists posted a number of new images of al Harbi. [See LWJ report, Jihadists claim wanted al Qaeda operative killed in Syria.] Jund al Aqsa’s tweet confirmed al Harbi’s death, indicating that he was both a military leader in the organization, as well as a leading figure in al Qaeda’s so-called “Khorasan Group.” The tweet included a photo of al Harbi that was released by Saudi authorities when he was added to the kingdom’s most wanted list. According to the US Treasury Department, al Harbi worked under Muhsin al Fadhli, a senior member of the Khorasan Group, which is suspected of planning attacks against the West. US airstrikes first targeted al Fadhli and his Khorasan comrades in September 2014, and have struck their suspected locations since then. Initial reports from September of last year claimed that al Fadhli may have been killed, but that was never confirmed.

An al Qaeda front group in Syria Jund al Aqsa’s tweet identifying al Harbi as its military leader is the latest indication that the group is a front organization for al Qaeda, which has attempted to hide the extent of its operations in Syria. At first, Ayman al Zawahiri ordered his operatives to conceal al Qaeda’s role in the insurgency against Bashar al Assad’s regime. It was only after the infighting between the Al Nusrah Front and the Islamic State broke out in mid-2013 that Al Nusrah’s allegiance to Zawahiri became public knowledge. While Al Nusrah is al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, other jihadist groups in the country have ties to al Qaeda. Jund al Aqsa is one of them. In mid-April, Jund al Aqsa released a eulogy for Ibrahim Rubaish, an ex-Gitmo detainee who served as an al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) official before being killed in a US drone strike. The group heaped effusive praise on Rubaish, calling him a “symbol and luminary of the jihad,” an “honest guide,” and “advice-giver,” according to a translation obtained by The Long War Journal.In its eulogy for Rubaish, Jund al Aqsa also specifically addressed al Qaeda’s senior leaders. The group described Nasir al Wuhayshi, who serves as both the emir of AQAP and al Qaeda’s global general manager, as the “honorable emir and veteran leader.” Jund al Aqsa regards al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri as the “wise and rightly-guided sheikh,” according to the eulogy.

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Late last year, Jund al Aqsa worked closely with Al Nusrah to combat Western-backed rebels in the province of Idlib. Al Nusrah and Jund al Aqsa went on the offensive against the Syrian Revolutionaries Front (SRF), capturing several towns and villages from the group.

Jund al Aqsa also accused the SRF of killing its founder, Sheikh Abdul Aziz al Qatari, who reportedly fought for al Qaeda in Afghanistan and was “close to” Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri. Jund al Aqsa released a statement concerning the death of its leader, al Qatari, via Twitter. An English-language banner advertising the statement can be seen on the right.

In March, Jund al Aqsa was one of the seven named organizations that established Jaysh al Fateh, a coalition of forces that captured the provincial capital of Idlib. A number of other groups, in addition to Jaysh al Fateh’s seven founding member groups, took part in the offensive against regime forces. Jund al Aqsa’s fighters played key roles early on in the assault, launching suicide attacks against regime checkpoints, thereby clearing the way for other forces to march in. It is not clear how many jihadists fight in Jund al Aqsa’s ranks, but the group remains a key part of the jihadist coalition in northern Syria.

Syria, Iran vow to step up fight against 'terrorists' Author: AFPPosted April 30, 2015 Syria and Iran have agreed to "intensify efforts to fight terrorism," Syria's defence minister said in Tehran, after a series of government defeats at the hands of rebel forces. Defence Minister General Fahd al-Freij, quoted by state news agency SANA, said key allies Damascus and Tehran were on the same page on how to tackle the fight against anti-government rebels.

"We agreed on the next measures to be taken together to confront terrorism," SANA quoted Freij as saying while on a two-day trip to Iran this week. "It is important to intensify efforts to fight terrorism, particularly after the escalation of recent months," he added. In the last month, Syrian government forces have suffered a series of setbacks, particularly in northwestern Idlib province. A coalition of rebels including Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate Al-Nusra Front now controls much of the province after seizing its capital, the key town of Jisr al-Shughur and a military base in the last few weeks. "Syria's enemies will spare no effort to continue their plot," Freij said, in a reference to the rebels and their regional and international backers. Syria's regime and allies refer to all those seeking to oust President Bashar al-Assad as "terrorists" and accuse opposition supporters like Turkey, Qatar and the United State s of funding extremism. Iranian Defence Minister General Hossein Dehgan (photo by: -/Iranian Defense Ministry/AFP/File)Iran's official IRNA news agency meanwhile quoted Defence Minister General Hossein Dehgan as saying "both sides agreed on the need for continuing bilateral cooperation to fight terrorism, extremism and violence and to restore regional stability." "We will resist the (extremist) takfiri-Zionist groups with all our strength," he added, describing jihadist groups as being in league with Israel. Iran has played a key role in bolstering Assad's regime against

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an uprising that began with anti-government protests in March 2011 before spiralling into a war after a crackdown by authorities. It has provided financial aid and military support, largely in the form of military advisors. Iranian-backed Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite movement, has also dispatched fighters to Syria to boost Assad's forces. But Assad, in an interview with French television this month, denied that Iranian troops were fighting on the ground.

April 28. Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP that rebel groups, as well as Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front, fought IS-linked Jaish al-Jihad in the border town of Qahtaniya in the southern province of Quneitra province. "These are key battles, because IS now has a presence in Syria's south and because they are close to the ceasefire line with the Golan," said Abdel Rahman. "This is the first time these groups have clashed with each other," he added. Jaish al-Islam is a relatively new group but is suspected to have very close ties to IS, according to Romain Caillet, a French expert on jihadists. Essam al-Rayes, spokesperson for the Southern Front coalition which is fighting Jaish al-Islam, said the IS-linked group had a presence in and around the town of Qahtaniya. Speaking by phone from Jordan, Rayes said tensions among opposition fighters in the town rose after it was suspected that Jaish al-Jihad had pledged allegiance to IS. "Al-Nusra Front then joined the fight, because Daesh is our common enemy," Rayes said, using the Arabic acronym for IS. Caillet said two Saudi commanders from Al-Nusra's southern battalions were killed on Monday night. The Southern Front had been planning a large offensive on regime-controlled areas north of Qahtaniya, but the latest clashes delayed their assault, Rayes told AFP

Assad Regime Collapsing? Rebels Score Another Key VictoryApril 27, Heavy weapons seized in Idlib's Al-Qarmid base, as Al Qaeda-led Islamist 'Army of Conquest' continues to make gains in the north. A Syrian rebel coalition led by Al Qaeda's Syria affiliate overran a regime military base in Idlib on Monday, a day after government raids killed 73 civilians in the northwestern province, a monitoring group said.The capture of Al-Qarmid, southeast of the provincial capital, consolidated a series of victories for the rebel alliance made up of Al Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front and other Islamist factions, calling itself "The Army of Conquest". "The Al-Qarmid base fell to rebel fighters, and the regime has withdrawn from it," Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman said. He said the regime stored several tanks and heavy artillery pieces at Al-Qarmid. Many of those weapons were seized on Monday by the same Islamist coalition that captured the last major government-held city in Idlib province on Saturday. The fall of Jisr al-Shughur followed the loss of Idlib city last month - the latter being only the second provincial capital to fall from regime control after Raqqa city, seized by Nusra in 2013 but later taken over by ISIS. Syrian state television reported merely that the army had killed "a number of terrorists" in fierce clashes around Al-Qarmid. But Abdel Rahman said government forces had failed to hold the base despite heavy shelling of rebel positions, and had lost 15 soldiers. He had no immediate information on rebel casualties.

Early on Monday, Al-Nusra's official Twitter and Facebook accounts published photos of tanks and artillery with the caption: "Inside Al-Qarmid military base: the jihadists' spoils." The accounts also carried pictures of fiery explosions, that they said were caused by suicide bombers blowing themselves up at checkpoints before the base was stormed.   Abdel Rahman told AFP at least two suicide bombers in cars laden with explosives targeted entrances to the base.   He said forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad still held three other bases in Idlib province and a military airport further east, as well as smaller towns. But the rebels' recent gains have opened up a strategic assault route to neighboring Latakia province on the

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Mediterranean coast, a bastion of the Assad regime. The series of gains by the Islamist alliance in the north comes as a more moderate rebel alliance is making steady gains in southern Syria as well, and appears to indicate the increasing strain felt by the Assad regime as it continues to fight a long and bloody war along multiple fronts.

In both Al-Qarmid and Jisr al-Shughur, regime forces reportedly retreated after just a few days of fighting; that performance, coupled with the rapid succession of regime losses throughout the country, has led some to speculate that the Assad regime may be finally beginning to collapse.Many Iranian-backed Shia Islamist militias from Iraq, which played a key role in supplementing the Syrian army's badly-overstretched forces, have left to fight ISIS in Iraq itself. Another key component of pro-regime forces - Lebanese Hezbollah - is also being stretched thin across Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and recently Yemen, according to reports. Those developments may leave Syrian army forces vulnerable and unable to hold out against rebel offenses beyond he regime's key western strongholds or the capital Damascus. Since the Saturday capture of Jisr al-Shughur, the regime has launched a spate of air strikes on rebel-held towns in Idlib province that killed at least 73 civilians on Sunday alone. Abdel Rahman said 19 children and 11 women were among the dead, with the deadliest strike coming in the town of Darkush, near the Turkish border.   Raids there on Sunday hit a marketplace, killing 53 people, including eight children and nine women. More than 220,000 people have been killed in the conflict in Syria since it began with peaceful protests in March 2011. AFP contributed to this report.

Abu Abd Allah Al-Shami: A Leading Salafist Militant Commander In Syria Nicholas A. Heras The Islamist rebel campaign Jaysh al-Fateh (Conquering Army) has begun an operation called Ma’arakat al-Nasr (Battle of Victory) in order to seize control of the strategic town of Jisr al-Shughur in the northwestern Syrian governorate of Idlib, near the Turkish border (al-Hayat, April 24; al-Sharq al-Awsat, April 23; al-Jazeera, April 23; Militant Leadership Monitor, March 2015). One of Jaysh al-Fateh’s allies in the operation is Jabhat Ansar al-Din (Partisans of Religion Front), an umbrella organization of three constituent Salafist jihadist armed groups with a large foreign fighter composition that is “neutral” in the conflict between Jabhat al-Nusra (JN—Victory Front) and the Islamic State and is seeking to overthrow the al-Assad government and implement a Shari’a state (El-Nashra [Idlib], April 23; al-Quds al-Arabi, March 8). The most important Syrian jihadist organization within Jabhat Ansar al-Din is Harakat Fajr al-Sham al-Islamiya (Movement of the Dawn of the Islamic Levant). Doctor Muhammad Hassan (a.k.a. Abu Abd Allah al-Shami) leads Harakat Fajr al-Sham al-Islamiya and is also a deputy commander of Jabhat Ansar al-Din. He is a native of Jabal Badro, a northeastern district of Aleppo city. Prior to the outbreak of the Syrian revolution, he was an inmate in the Saidnaya prison, where a number of prominent militant Islamist Syrian activists were held by Syrian security forces. Al-Shami and many others became prominent rebel fighters and leaders after they were released in June 2011 as part of an early al-Assad government effort to appease the nascent opposition movement (al-Malaf [Aleppo], March 9; Militant Leadership Monitor, November 2013). 

April 27, Israeli media have quoted “reliable sources.” probably Israeli officials, that Al Qaeda-linked rebels and not the Israel Air Force bombed Hezbollah targets early this morning. Several Hezbollah fighters in Syria

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were killed in the attack near the Lebanese border, according to the Qatari-based Al-Jazeera, which said the IAF was behind the attack. A Syrian army base, where long-range missiles are kept, reportedly was bombed. The Israeli sources said that the Al Nusra front, affiliated with Al Qaeda, was behind Monday morning’s attack and took advantage of Israel’s killing four Hezbollah terrorists last night as they were planting a bomb along the border with Israel at the Golan Heights. A Hareidi unit spotted the terrorists. Arab media quickly picked up the thread Monday morning, connected the dots and concluded that the bombing was a continuation of Israel’s reported strikes on Friday and last Wednesday  deep inside Syria. Sources said Al Nusra is trying to force Hezbollah back into Lebanon. Hezbollah is fighting with forces loyal to the Assad regime and against rebels and a host of terrorist organizations that include Al Nusra. The elephant on the war front is the Islamic State (ISIS), which controls a large part of the war-torn country.

Al Qaeda, jihadist allies declare victory over Syrian regime in key cityBY THOMAS JOSCELYN | April 25, 2015 | tjoscelyn@gmail.com | @thomasjoscelyn

The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, and its allies have declared victory over the Syrian regime in the city of Jisr Al Shughur. The city was considered one of the regime’s last remaining strongholds in the northwestern province of Idlib.Late last month, the jihadists launched a major offensive in the province, sweeping Assad’s forces out of the provincial capital. The battle for Jisr Al Shughur was the next major step in the jihadists’ plan to consolidate their control over the area. Al Nusrah declared “victory” on one of its official Twitter feeds, adding that the city has been “liberated.” Some of the photos posted on the Twitter page show al Qaeda’s fighters in control of the city’s center, the regime’s checkpoints, and a regime-built hospital.Al Nusrah uses another photo 1, picturing a number of bodies piled on top of one another, to claim that Assad’s forces committed a “massacre” as they fled the city. Multiple groups took part in the fighting. The jihadists established a coalition named the “Battle of Victory” to coordinate their efforts during a major push into the city. The alliance is modeled after the Jaysh al Fateh (“Army of Conquest”) alliance that overran the city of Idlib late last month, but includes a different configuration of groups.In addition to the Al Nusrah Front, the “Battle of Victory” coalition includes Ahrar al Sham, Jaysh al Islam, Ansar al Din, and Ansar al Sham. Other groups also participated in the battle. Some of these other organizations have known links to al Qaeda as well. [See LWJ report, Al Nusrah Front, allies launch new offensives against Syrian regime.] A map posted by Ahrar al Sham, which was seeded with al Qaeda veterans early on in the Syrian uprising, shows the jihadists in control of most of the city (green), with Assad’s forces being pushed to the city’s outskirts (red). Ahrar al Sham’s map can be seen at the beginning of this article. The group has also published various other images from the fighting.Ansar al Din, which was formed by several jihadist groups and is part of al Qaeda’s international network, posted several messages and photos from Jisr Al Shughur on its official Twitter page. In one tweet, the group said that “elements” of “Nusayri families” (a derogatory reference to Shiites) who support Bashar al Assad’s regime will be brought before sharia courts and treated according to Islamic law. In another, the jihadists claim they are preventing civilians, including children, from being harmed by Assad’s forces.Two other photos purportedly show Ansar al Din fighters hunting the “remnants” of the regime’s forces on the outskirts of the city. Jaysh al Islam and Ansar al Sham, two of the five member groups that founded the “Battle of Victory” coalition to take Jisr Al Shughur, have

1 (http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2015/04/al-qaeda-jihadist-allies-declare-victory-over-syrian-regime-in-key-city.php )

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also used social media to advertise their fighters’ gains. One video tweeted by Jaysh al Islam shows its fighters firing on regime aircraft flying overhead. All of the organizations posting propaganda from the battle are using their own logos, as well as the brand created for the “Battle of Victory” alliance.A highly influential al Qaeda-linked ideologue , Sheikh Abdallah Muhammad al Muhaysini, was reportedly wounded during the fighting. Multiple jihadists on social media asked readers to pray for Muhaysini’s recovery. Muhaysini has been a major proponent of both the “Battle of Victory” and “Army of Conquest” coalitions that have made significant progress against the regime since last month. Images from northwestern Syria have pictured Muhaysini among the jihadist fighters, with one video from March even showing him nearly being hit by a bomb in the city of Idlib. He has endorsed and advertised the jihadists’ efforts on his own Twitter page, which has nearly 350,000 followers. Muhaysini, a prolific social media user, has not tweeted since April 22, at the beginning of the battle for Jisr Al Shughur. According to Agence France Presse, Syria’s state-controlled media has not acknowledged its defeat in the city. Assad’s propaganda arm, SANA, has reported that “units from our valiant army successfully redeployed on the outskirts of Jisr al Shughur to avoid casualties among innocent civilians.” The Syrian propaganda organ added that “aircraft bombed groups of terrorists in the Jisr al Shughur region, and destroyed dozens of military vehicles and killed terrorists.”In addition to Al Nusrah and al Qaeda-linked jihadist groups, fighters associated with the Free Syrian Army also took part in the battle.

Turkistan Islamic Party had significant role in recent Idlib offensiveLWJ BY CALEB WEISS | April 30, 2015 | weiss.caleb2@gmail.com | @Weissenberg7 The Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), an al Qaeda-linked jihadist group that operates in Syria and Central Asia, played a significant role in the recent offensive in Jisr al Shughur in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib.Evidence of the TIP’s role in Jisr al Shughur is seen in a video that was produced by Islam Awazi, the TIP’s official media wing. Also, other data released on social media suggest the group lost at least 20 fighters in the battle for the northern Syrian town. The jihadist group fought in the “Battle of Victory” coalition in the recent offensive, which included the Al Nusrah Front,  Ahrar al Sham, Ansar Sham, Jaish al Islam, the Jabhat Ansar al Din (which includes the Chechen Jaish al Muhajireen wal Ansar, the Moroccan Harakat Sham al Islam, and the native Syrian group Harakat Fajr al Sham al Islamiyya), Jamaat Ansar al Islam (the Syrian remnant faction of Ansar al Islam), and many others. The coalition claimed victory over Bashir al Asad’s forces in Jisr al Shughur after three days of fighting. [See LWJ report, Al Qaeda, jihadist allies declare victory over Syrian regime in key city, and Threat Matrix report, Jihadists celebrate in key Idlib city after defeating Syrian regime.] The footage in the TIP video, which is nearly 20 minutes long, first shows its fighters gearing up for the battle. The fighters are seen listening to the popular al Qaeda-linked Saudi cleric, Dr. Abdallah al Muhaysini, before moving to the front lines. Several scenes show the usage of mortars, rockets, tanks, anti-aircraft weaponry, and one anti-tank rocket before displaying fighters in street-to-street combat. The video then features what appears to be Abu Rida al Turkistani, a leader within the group, placing the TIP’s flag in the city center. The clip ends showing fighters celebrating while locals rejoice with members of the jihadist group.The TIP fought alongside the Chechen group Junud al Sham, as well as the small Uzbek group Katibat al Tawhid wal Jihad. In a video released by Junud al Sham, the group mentions a “Katibat Turkistani,” or “Turkistani Battalion,” the name that TIP fights under in Syria.In another video released by Junud al Sham, a TIP member is seen talking to Muslim Shishani, or Murad Margoshvili, an ethnic Chechen from Georgia and leader of Junud al Sham. Shishani is a US-designated foreign terrorist. [See LWJ report, State Department adds

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Chechen, Moroccan-led jihadist groups to terrorist list, and Threat Matrix report, Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria involved in new Idlib offensive.]Several jihadists accounts on Twitter mentioned that “Katibat Turkistani” took on large role in the offensive. One account suggested that the group captured two checkpoints, although this has not yet been confirmed. However, the group does engage in heavy fighting against regime forces and several slain TIP fighters are shown in the video. The TIP also confirmed on Twitter that it lost 20 fighters in the offensive, which suggests more than just a supportive role.Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria A TIP official claimed that the group has been fighting in Syria since 2012 during an interview with the Turkish news site Anadolu Agency. When asked why the group is in Syria, the official, identified as Ibrahim Mansour, said, “There are several reasons for this. First, here the oppressed Syrian people are our Muslim brothers. [We] have an obligation to help them with jihad.” He continued, “Alhamdulillah [Praise God] with the surrounding Muslims against Bashar, we participate in jihad, united against a tyrant.” Manour went on to say that fighting in Syria gives the TIP training and experience to fight in the Chinese province of Xinjiang.Ibrahim Mansour also confirmed in the same interview that by extension of the parent organization in Pakistan’s tribal agencies of north and South Waziristan, the TIP fighters in Syria have bayat (allegiance) to Mullah Muhammad Omar of the Taliban. The TIP is not the only group fighting in Syria with allegiance to Mullah Omar; the Uzbek Imam Bukhari Jamaat swore bayat to the Taliban back in early November. Imam Bukhari Jamaat also took part in the recent fighting at Jisr al Shughur.The TIP has long operated in Idlib alongside the Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria. One jihadist account on Twitter has alleged that the group also fights in Latakia province. In May of last year, one of its fighters, identified as Dadullah al Turkistani, detonated himself as part of a coordinated assault with Al Nusrah in the northwestern province. That same operation included a suicide attack by an American Nusrah fighter known as Abu Hurayra al Amriiki.The group has also highlighted another suicide bomber, Abdulvaris al Turkistani, who also detonated in Idlib alongside the Al Nusrah Front. In addition to Abdulvaris and Dadullah, several other TIP fighters who have been killed in Syria have been promoted by the group’s Twitter feed. Most of the promoted fighters appear to be younger and almost all were killed in Idlib. Only one fighter killed in Jisr al Shughur has been eulogized by the group so far.The TIP is known to operate at least two training camps in Syria. One camp, which is used to train children, appears to be located in a captured Syrian villa somewhere in Idlib or Latakia province. The other camp is more traditional, albeit rudimentary compared to other camps. The Turkistan Islamic Party also operates in China as well as Central and South Asia and is thought to have scores of fighters and its leadership located in Pakistan’s tribal areas and in Afghanistan. The TIP is largely made up of ethnic Uighurs and fights with the aim of creating an Islamic state in the Chinese province of Xinjiang. Its leaders and fighters have been killed by Coalition forces in Afghanistan and by US drone strikes in Pakistan.Several of TIP’s senior leaders have also been appointed to top positions in al Qaeda’s network in Pakistan. For example, Abdul Shakoor Turkistani, the former emir of TIP, was also appointed by al Qaeda to lead its forces in Pakistan’s tribal provinces. [See LWJ report, Turkistan Islamic Party leader thought killed in US drone strike.] The jihadist group further confirms its place within al Qaeda’s international network by its role in fighting alongside al Qaeda’s official branch and other allied groups in Syria.

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