Jaysh al-Jihad | |
---|---|
جيش الجهاد | |
Leaders | Abu Mussab Al-Fanussy |
Dates of operation | February 2015[1] – 21 May 2016 |
Headquarters | Al-Qahtaniyah, Quneitra[1] |
Active regions | Quneitra Governorate andDaraa Governorate,Syria[1] |
Ideology | Salafi Jihadism |
Size | 500[1] |
Part of | ![]() |
Allies | Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade |
Opponents | |
Battles and wars | Syrian Civil War |
Jaysh al-Jihad (Jihad Army) was an Islamist rebel group based in Quneitra Governorate. The group formed from the merger of seven small independent groups and factions that defected fromNusra Front after it clashed with theYarmouk Martyrs Brigade in December 2014. These groups were: Jihad Brigades, Jamaat Jund al-Islam, Jamaat Abu Baseer, Mujahideen of al-Sham movement, Jamaat Shabab Ahl al-Sunnah, Nurayn Brigade, and Jamaat Bunyan al-Marsous.[1]
The group had been accused by other Syrian rebel groups of being affiliated with theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).[6][7] In April 2015, violent clashes broke out between the group and theFree Syrian Army and al-Nusra Front, after Jaish al-Jihad militants ambushed and killed six FSA fighters at a checkpoint in Quneitra.[8] By 6 May 2015, Nusra and other rebel groups announced that they had cleared al-Qahtaniyah and Quneitra city of Jaysh al-Jihad forces.[1]
In May 2016, remnants of Jaysh al-Jihad joined with two other Pro-ISIL factions in Southern Syria, theYarmouk Martyrs Brigade andIslamic Muthanna Movement, to form theKhalid ibn al-Walid Army.[9]