Explainer: What is Tahrir al-Sham, Israel-backed terror group that attacked Aleppo?

By Ivan Kesic

Shortly after the announcement of a ceasefire in Lebanon, the Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham terrorist group, backed by the Israeli regime, launched a fresh aggression on the Syrian city of Aleppo

Thousands of members of the Takfiri terrorist group, popularly known as Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra), launched the offensive against Aleppo in northwestern Syria on Wednesday.

Using rocket launchers and mortars, they made daring advances in the Qabtan al-Jabal, Bala, and Sheikh Aqil areas of western Aleppo before the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) confronted them.

In a well-coordinated counteroffensive, with the help of the Russian Air Force, SAA has so far killed more than 1,000 terrorists, most of them foreign mercenaries, according to the Syrian media.

In his remarks on Sunday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said terrorism only understands the language of force, and the Syrian military would use force to crush the terrorist group.

Which terrorist groups are involved in the attack?

Terrorist groups participating in the attack on Aleppo include primarily Tahrir al-Sham, but also Jaysh al-Izza, Suqour al-Sham, Ansar al-Tawhid, Hizb al-Turkistan, Ahl al-Sham, Ahrar al-Sham and various other splinter Takfiri groups patronized by the Israeli regime and Western powers.

Some media reports suggested that the Turkey-backed "National Army" militia also participated in the offensive alongside HTS, claiming that Ankara aims to leverage this opportunity to pressure the Syrian government into entering new negotiations to normalize relations with Ankara.

The Turkish government, however, has denied any involvement in the events unfolding in Aleppo.

How was Tahrir al-Sham formed?

Tahrir al-Sham, known in full as Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), is a terrorist group based in Syria that was formed in 2017 as a result of a merger between Jabhat al-Nusra, Jabhat Fateh, Ansar al-Din, Jaysh al-Ahrar, Jaysh al-Sunna, Liwa al-Haqq, and Haraka Nour al-Din al-Zenki groups.

It was established as an attempt to unite terrorist groups and create a united front against the Syrian government led by President Bashar al-Assad, however, many of these groups later separated from Tahrir al-Sham or disbanded after a while.

Its core, Jabhat al-Nusra, a branch of the al-Qaeda terrorist group in Syria, made changes in its name and structure in the past years to distance itself from this parent organization and to attract more domestic and international support.

Tahrir al-Sham is active in the northwestern regions of Syria, especially in Idlib province, and is considered one of the main players in the West-backed Takfiri war against the Syrian government.

In addition to fighting with government forces, Tahrir al-Sham has also entered into conflict with many other armed groups, including former allies.

Widely known for atrocities against Syrian civilians and government forces, Tahrir al-Sham is designated as a terrorist organization by many countries, including the United States and Russia.

While the US has, on paper, put it on the blacklist, Washington's support has kept the group going. 

What is the group's ideology?

Tahrir al-Sham follows the Takfiri ideology, a set of extreme ideas that emerged from Arabian Salafism, but has consciously tried to present an image independent of al-Qaeda and other similar groups.

Leading Islamic authorities have compared Takfiri ideology to an invasive species that attempts to uproot all other variations and bring them to the brink of extinction.

This intolerant and hate-driven ideology spread thanks to the influence of rich petrostates and their donations, with the encouragement and approval of Western powers who saw it as a useful tool.

Western media often emphasizes their wider "Sunni" prefix instead of narrowing it to extremist Takfiri ideology, which is in line with the adopted policy of spreading discord among Muslims and misrepresenting counterterrorism as the so-called "Sunni-Shia conflict."

Who is Abu Mohammad al-Julani?

The top leader of the Tahrir al-Sham terrorist group is Abu Mohammad al-Julani, born Ahmed Hussein al-Shara, who was previously infamous as the commander of Jabhat al-Nusra.

His family is originally from Idlib province, and he was born in 1982 in al-Shaheil township of the city of Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria, as his father was a driver working there.

After the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, he dropped out of university and joined al-Qaeda in his country, operating under the command of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his successors.

He progressed rapidly in the ranks of the Al-Qaeda group and became a close aide of al-Zarqawi.

After al-Zarqawi was assassinated in an American airstrike in 2006, al-Julani left Iraq and went to Lebanon, and it is believed that he oversaw the training of Jund al-Sham, a group linked to al-Qaeda.

Al-Julani again went to Iraq from Lebanon and the Americans arrested and imprisoned him, but in 2008 he was freed and allowed to work with the Daesh terrorist group led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Although the Tahrir al-Sham board has tried to show its separation from al-Qaeda by changing its name and replacing its leaders, according to many analysts, both groups continue to work in tandem.

And, both groups continue to be sponsored by the United States and the Israeli regime to push their objectives aimed at destabilization of the West Asia region.

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