| Liwa Aqab al-Islami لواء العقاب الإسلامي | |
|---|---|
 Flag of Liwa Aqab al-Islami | |
| Leaders | Saddam al-Khalifah Rashid Tukwa |
| Dates of operation | Unknown-December 2014 |
| Headquarters | Qasr Ibn Wardan,Hama Governorate,Syria |
| Active regions | Northwestern Syria |
| Ideology | Islamism |
| Allies |  Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Jaysh al-Sham Jabhat al-Nusra(Until 2014) |
| Opponents |  SyriaSyrian Revolutionaries FrontJabhat al-Nusra(2014) |
| Battles and wars | Syrian Civil War |
Liwa Aqab al-Islami or theIslamic Punishment Brigade was an armed SyrianSalafi Jihadist rebel group based in northwestern Syria primarily in theHama Governorate, held close ties to theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant, including its leadership allegedly secretly pledging allegiance to ISIL, and carried out public executions and amputations, as well as enforcingIslamic law until it was forcibly dissolved by theal-Nusra Front in December 2014 due to its association with ISIL.
The group was established by Saddam al-Khalifa and Rashid Tukwa and held a strong presence in the eastern countryside of theHama Governorate, but the group also operated in theAleppo andIdlib Governorates in northwestern Syria.
After the breakout offighting between ISIL and other anti-government factions the group distanced itself from both ISIL and theFree Syrian Army, however continued to hold ties to ISIL and handle ISIL's affairs in areas of Hama underneath their control.[1][2] However after al-Nusra and other opposition groups expelled ISIL from northwestern Syria, Saddam al-Khilafah allegedly pledged allegiance to ISIL secretly.
On 30 March 2014, the Islamic Punishment Brigade attacked a Syrian government checkpoint nearKhanasir, with heavy and medium weapons, reportedly killing several Syrian army soldiers then withdrew from the area. TheFree Syrian Army's Hama Military Council said that the attack was carried out in order to relieve pressure from the then ongoingrebel offensive to takeMurak.
In October 2014, the groupstoned a woman inHama for committing adultery.[3]
On 17 October 2014, after the break out offighting between al-Nusra and theSyrian Revolutionaries Front, the Islamic Punishment Brigade joined the conflict on the side of al-Nusra against SRF and fought alongside them in theJabal Zawiya andMaarrat al-Nu'man against SRF, allegedly to exploit the conflict and help expand ISIL's influence inIdlib and facilitate its return to northwestern Syria by fighting SRF and the western-backedHazzm Movement that SRF was allied with against al-Nusra. Soon after however al-Nusra established checkpoints near the then besiegedAbu al-Duhur Military Airbase, and arrested members of the Islamic Punishment Brigade.[4]
On 23 December 2014,Jabhat al-Nusra raided the group's headquarters inQasr Ibn Wardan because of the group's closeness with ISIL. During the raid the group's leader Saddam al-Khalifa was captured by al-Nusra and several of the Punishment Brigade's fighters were killed in heavy clashes with al-Nusra inQasr Ibn Wardan that began on the previous day.[5][6][7]
On 25 December 2014, the group beheaded the nephew of the then Syria's defense minister,Fahd Jassem al-Freij inHama. Their activists claimed that Freij's nephew was a member of theShabiha and was involved in massacres against civilians.[8]