| Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah | |
|---|---|
| سرايا أنصار السنة | |
 | |
| Founding leader | Abu Aisha al-Shami |
| Foundation | 1 February 2025; 12 months ago (2025-02-01) |
| Country |  Lebanon Syria |
| Headquarters | Western Syria |
| Active regions | |
| Ideology | Salafi jihadism Anti-Assadism Anti-Shi'ism Anti-Alawism[1] Anti-Druzism Anti-Christian[2] |
| Notable attacks | |
| Size | 1,600[5] |
| Allies |  Islamic State (alleged, denied)[6] |
| Opponents |  Syrian Democratic Forces[8] |
Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah (Arabic:سرايا أنصار السنة,lit. 'Supporters of theSunnah Companies') is aSunniIslamist militant organization operating inSyria andLebanon, described asanti-Shia, anti-Alawite,anti-Druze, andanti-Christian. Its stated goal is to establish an Islamic State in Syria that excludes Alawites, Druze, Christians, and Shia.
The group was created on 1 February 2025 inSyria byAbu Aisha al-Shami, who had leftHay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) after perceiving it to be lenient towards Shia Muslims and Alawites.[9] The same day, it claimed responsibility for an attack that killed 12 Alawites inArzah, and its fighters attackedTell Dahab and killed five former security members of theBa'athist government.[1][3] They also claimed responsibility for the killing of 10 Shia villagers inHama.[3]
The group stated that its sole motive was to continue the attacks until Shia Muslims and Alawites were fully "eliminated" from Syria or displaced to other countries. The group is decentralized with no formal headquarters. The group opposes thetransitional government's efforts to pardon former members of the Ba'athist government.[3]
On 5 March 2025, Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah claimed to have set fires to forests inQardaha, warning that it would target Alawites for crimes committed by the Ba'athist government. According to theInstitute for the Study of War, "It is not clear whether the group is conducting these attacks itself or if it is falsely claiming security incidents."[10]
On 4 April 2025, Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah claimed to have killed an Alawite man and his relative inSafita,Tartus Governorate. A day later the group claimed an attack which killed a formerNational Defence Forces member inHoms Governorate, as well as kidnapping three Alawites fromSqoubin,Latakia Governorate in a separate attack.[11]
On 8 April 2025, Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah claimed that one of its members drove up to an Alawite civilian and shot him in the majority Alawite neighborhood ofWadi al Dahab inHoms, the group justified the attacks by claiming that the person was a "criminal" and affiliated with the former Ba'athist Government.[12]
On 9 April 2025 it stated that it killed 20 Alawites over the past week, with the Institute for the Study of War comparing its rhetoric to the "ideology ofal-Qaeda andISIS".[13]
On 9 May, Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah assassinated a formerNational Defense Forces commander in the al-Waer neighborhood of Homs City. The slain commander was known for his efforts to organize a military defense of Homs City against HTS before the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024. In a separate attack, Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah also assassinated a Shia Assad regime fighter for his association withLiwa al-Quds in theal-Mashad neighborhood of Aleppo city.[14]
On 10 May, it published a statement declaring itself to be active in the city ofTripoli, Lebanon, threatening to "strike the apostates among theNusayris, theRawafed, and theDruze" there.[15]
On 21 May, the newspaperAn-Nahar published an interview with the head of Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah'sSharia divisionAbu al-Fath al-Shami, who stated that the militant organisation was founded in secret inIdlib prior to thefall of the previous Syrian government. According to him, the organisation came out of secrecy in order to publicly distance themselves from the regime ofAhmed al-Sharaa, who he described as an untrustworthy tyrant. He also stated that the organisation contained members who had defected from HTS, along with defectors from other militias and civilians who had joined the group. Describing the organisation's priorities, he stated that they do not currently see a need to confront the Syrian transitional regime's military forces, despite having declared them to be apostates. According to him, the organisation is presently focused on attacking Alawites, Druze, Shiites, and theSDF forces in Northeast Syria.[8]
On 10 June 2025, Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah claimed responsibility for killing a former Assad Regime member and injuring another inDijabijja, Homs Governorate and killed an Alawite man in Tartus.[5]
On 22 June 2025, at least one attackeropened fire and detonated anexplosive device inside theGreek Orthodox Mar Elias Church as people were praying inDamascus, Syria, killing at least 25 people and injuring 63 others. The SyrianMinistry of Interior said theIslamic State was responsible for the attack, while Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah claimed responsibility for the attack.[2]
On 12 July 2025, wildfires broke out inLatakia which were purposefully set by Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah who took responsibility for it though Syria's leader of theMinistry of Interior,Anas Khattab, claimed there was no evidence of arson even as forces investigate.[citation needed] The wild fires started a day prior and also spread toIdlib, the targets of arson are rugged mountains and dozens of teams have worked to stop these fires.[16]
During theSouthern Syria clashes in July, the organisation said that it would expand its sectarian attacks to include the Druze community in Suwayda.[17]
The group claimed responsibility for theImam Ali Mosque attack, which took place in December 2025.[4]
Its stated goal is to establish an Islamic State in Syria that excludes Alawites, Druze, Christians, and Shia.[17]
According to theInstitute for the Study of War, the group "appears to supportIS and share its extremist ideology." Though the group has denied that it cooperates with ISIS, it has stated that cooperation with it "may happen in the future and will be announced as it happens."[6]Abu al-Fath al-Shami, head of Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah'sSharia division, stated that the organisation has not pledged allegiance to ISIS's leader and is not affiliated with him, but added that "whoever agrees with us inpure monotheism and sincere jihad has our brotherhood."[8]
