| Ghuraba al-Sham | |
|---|---|
| غرباء الشام | |
| Leaders | Mahmud al-Aghasi (2003–2007)[1] |
| Dates of operation | 2003–2013 |
| Active regions | Syria Lebanon Iraq[2] |
| Ideology | SunniJihadism[3] |
| Allies | Al-Nusra Front[4] (formerly)[5][6] Ahrar ash-Sham Ahrar al-Jazeera[7] |
| Opponents | Syrian Armed Forces People's Protection Units[8] |
| Battles and wars | Syrian civil warSyrian civil war spillover in Lebanon |
Ghuraba al-Sham (Arabic:غرباء الشامGhurabā' ash-Shām, "Strangers of theLevant ") was a group ofjihadists ofTurkish and formerEastern bloc origin[3] who smuggled foreign fighters toIraq, intervened inLebanon during the2007 Lebanon conflict,[6] and fought in Syria during theSyrian civil war.[3] The group coordinated withAl-Nusra Front in clashes with thePeople's Protection Units during theBattle of Ras al-Ayn in November 2012[8] and in January 2013.[9] The group apparently shut down or disappeared in 2014.
The group was founded byAleppo preacher Mahmud al-Aghasi, who was also known as Abu al-Qaqa. He was often accused by Syrian opposition parties of working for theMukhabarat and during the2007 Lebanon conflict he was known as theGodfather ofFatah al-Islam.[6] The group was widely believed by many Lebanese people to be smuggling fighters to Iraq during theIraq War and later to theNahr al-Bared refugee camp to helpFatah al-Islam under the alleged auspice of the Syrian government.[6] Abu al-Qaqa was killed in Aleppo by a former prisoner who was held by Americans during theIraq War[1] on 28 September 2007.[6] Members of the group were recruited in Syria and sent to Iraq to fight during the Iraq War.
