Jund al-Aqsa

Jund al-Aqsa
جند الأقصى
Flag of Jund al-Aqsa Emblem of Jund al-Aqsa
Leaders	Abu Dhar al-Najdi al-Harethi[1] Abu Abdul Aziz al-Qatari †[2] Abu Musab al-Ansari † Said Arif †[3] Abu Diab al-Sarmini[4] (formerly)[5]
Dates of operation	January 2014 – 22 February 2017
Group(s)	Ansar ut-Turkistan (formerly)[6]
Headquarters	Sarmin, Idlib Governorate, Syria (2015–17)[3] Khan Shaykhun, Idlib Governorate, Syria (Feb. 2017)[7][8]
Active regions	Hama Governorate, Syria Idlib Governorate, Syria[9] Aleppo Governorate, Syria[10]
Ideology	Salafist jihadism[11]
Size	1,000+ (2014)[10] 600 (2015)[12] 800 (before October 2016)[13][14] 1,600 (late 2016)[14][better source needed] 2,100 (February 2017)[15][better source needed]
Part of	Muhajirin wa-Ansar Alliance (2014–2015)[9] Army of Conquest (2015–2017)[16] al-Qaeda (2014–17) Al-Nusra Front (2014 & 2016–2017)
Allies	Islamic State Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria Jaysh al-Sunna[17][better source needed]
Opponents	State opponents Ba'athist Syria Iran Russia United States[3] Non-State Opponents Ahrar al-Sham Suqour al-Sham Brigade Sham Legion Free Syrian Army Tahrir al-Sham
Battles and wars	Syrian Civil War Inter-rebel conflict during the Syrian Civil War 2014 Hama offensive 2014 Idlib offensive Al-Nusra Front–SRF/Hazzm Movement conflict Second Battle of Idlib[18] Insurgency in Idlib 2015 Hama offensive 2016 Khanasir offensive 2016 Hama offensive October 2016 Idlib Governorate clashes Idlib Governorate clashes (2017) Military intervention against ISIL American-led intervention in Syria Russian military intervention in Syria
Preceded by Sarayat al-Quds (part of al-Nusra Front) Succeeded by  Islamic State (Majority joined in February 2017) Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria (some factions joined in February 2017) Guardians of Religion (some factions joined in April 2018)[19][better source needed] Ansar al-Tawhid (formed by some factions in march 2018)[20]

Jund al-Aqsa (Arabic: جند الأقصى Jund al-‘Aqṣā, "Soldiers of al-Aqsa"), known as Liwa al-Aqsa after 7 February 2017,^[21][7] was a Salafist jihadist organization that was active during the Syrian Civil War.^[9] Formerly known as Sarayat al-Quds, the group was founded by Abu Abdul 'Aziz al-Qatari as a subunit within the al-Nusra Front.^[10] The group later became independent, because al-Nusra was growing too rapidly for its resources and had suffered from fighting the Islamic State.^[10] On 20 September 2016 the U.S. Department of State designated Jund al-Aqsa as a terrorist organization.^[22] The group rejoined al-Nusra Front, by then renamed Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (JFS), in October 2016.^[4] However, on 23 January 2017, JFS declared that Jund Al-Aqsa was no longer part of Jabhat Fateh Al-Sham.^[23][24] In early February 2017, some of Jund al-Aqsa's units joined the newly formed Tahrir al-Sham, while the others refused and formed a new splinter group called Liwa al-Aqsa, and captured many towns in northern Hama and southern Idlib from other rebel groups. Following these attacks, Tahrir al-Sham launched a military operation against Liwa al-Aqsa, accusing them of being an ISIL affiliate.^[25] Following intense clashes with Tahrir al-Sham, up to 2,100 Liwa al-Aqsa militants left Idlib Province to join ISIL in Raqqa Province, by 22 February 2017.^[7]