Ansar al-Sham

Kata'ib Ansar al-Sham
Supporters of the Levant Battalions^[1]
Kata'ib Ansar al-Sham; Supporters of the Levant Battalions
Arabic: كتائب أنصار الشام
	; Ansar al-Sham Logo; Flag of Ansar al-Sham
Leaders	Abu Omar al-Jamil; (overall leader); Abu Musa al-Shishani; (military commander)
Dates of operation	September 2012 – present
Group(s)	al-Zahir Baybars Battalion
Headquarters	Jabal al-Akrad, Latakia Governorate
Active regions	Latakia Governorate; Idlib Governorate
Ideology	Sunni Islamism Salafism;
Size	2,500 (March 2014)
Part of	Syrian Islamic Front; Islamic Front; Jaysh al-Islam (December 2016–January 2017, branch part of Ahrar al-Sham since January 2017); Tahrir al-Sham (February 2017–August 2018)
Allies	Free Syrian Army; Junud al-Sham; Jund al-Aqsa; Sham Legion; Ajnad al-Kavkaz; Ajnad ash-Sham; Jaysh al-Sunna; Tahrir al-Sham; Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria
Opponents	Syria; Russia; Iran; Hezbollah; Syrian Resistance; Syrian Social Nationalist Party;
Battles and wars	Syrian Civil War 2013 Latakia offensive; 2014 Latakia offensive; Inter-rebel conflict during the Syrian Civil War; 2015 Idlib offensive Battle of Idlib (2015); ; Northwestern Syria offensive (April–June 2015); Al-Ghab offensive (July–August 2015); 2015–16 Latakia offensive; 2016 Latakia offensive; Northwestern Syria offensive (April 2019–present);

Kata'ib Ansar al-Sham (Arabic: كتائب أنصار الشام, Supporters of the Levant Battalions) is an armed Sunni Islamist rebel group active in the Syrian Civil War, mainly fighting against Syrian government forces.^[6]

^ ^a ^b Sinjab, Lina (17 October 2013). "Syria crisis: Guide to armed and political opposition". BBC. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
^ Image ytimg.com
^ ^a ^b "Rebels Reopen the Latakia Front". Institute for the Study of War. 10 April 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Tam Hussein (24 March 2014). "The Ansar al-Sham Battalions". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
^ Aaron Y. Zelin (4 February 2013). "The Syrian Islamic Front: A New Extremist Force". The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
^ ^a ^b "A Power Move by Syria's Rebel Forces". Institute for the Study of War. 22 November 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
^ "استجابة للمطالب الشعبية.. "أنصار الشام" تندمج بـ"جيش الإسلام" - شبكة بلدي الإعلامية". Baladi News Network. 15 December 2016. Archived from the original on 9 April 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
^ "New statement from Hayy'at Taḥrīr al-Shām: "Katā'ib Anṣār al-Shām Joins Hayy'at Taḥrīr al-Shām"". Jihadology. 7 February 2017.
^ "Regime Regains Ground on the Coast". Institute for the Study of War. 22 August 2013. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
^ "Syrie: combats féroces autour d'un point de passage avec la Turquie". AFP. 21 March 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2014.

[BBC17Oct-1] Sinjab, Lina (17 October 2013). "Syria crisis: Guide to armed and political opposition". BBC. Retrieved 15 May 2014.

[2] Image ytimg.com

[isw10april-3] "Rebels Reopen the Latakia Front". Institute for the Study of War. 10 April 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014.

[ceip24March14-4] Tam Hussein (24 March 2014). "The Ansar al-Sham Battalions". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved 15 May 2014.

[5] Aaron Y. Zelin (4 February 2013). "The Syrian Islamic Front: A New Extremist Force". The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Retrieved 15 May 2014.

[ISW22Nov-6] "A Power Move by Syria's Rebel Forces". Institute for the Study of War. 22 November 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2014.

[joinJaI-7] "استجابة للمطالب الشعبية.. "أنصار الشام" تندمج بـ"جيش الإسلام" - شبكة بلدي الإعلامية". Baladi News Network. 15 December 2016. Archived from the original on 9 April 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2016.

[joinHTS-8] "New statement from Hayy'at Taḥrīr al-Shām: "Katā'ib Anṣār al-Shām Joins Hayy'at Taḥrīr al-Shām"". Jihadology. 7 February 2017.

[isw220813-9] "Regime Regains Ground on the Coast". Institute for the Study of War. 22 August 2013. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014.

[10] "Syrie: combats féroces autour d'un point de passage avec la Turquie". AFP. 21 March 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2014.

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Kata'ib Ansar al-Sham Supporters of the Levant Battalions^[1]
Arabic: كتائب أنصار الشام
Ansar al-Sham Logo Flag of Ansar al-Sham^[2]
Leaders	Abu Omar al-Jamil (overall leader) Abu Musa al-Shishani (military commander)^[3]
Dates of operation	September 2012^[3] – present
Group(s)	al-Zahir Baybars Battalion^[4]
Headquarters	Jabal al-Akrad, Latakia Governorate^[4]
Active regions	Latakia Governorate^[5] Idlib Governorate^[1]
Ideology	Sunni Islamism^[6] Salafism^[4]
Size	2,500^[4] (March 2014)
Part of	Syrian Islamic Front Islamic Front Jaysh al-Islam^[7] (December 2016–January 2017, branch part of Ahrar al-Sham since January 2017) Tahrir al-Sham (February 2017–August 2018)^[8]
Allies	Free Syrian Army Junud al-Sham Jund al-Aqsa Sham Legion Ajnad al-Kavkaz Ajnad ash-Sham Jaysh al-Sunna Tahrir al-Sham Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria
Opponents	Syria Russia Iran Hezbollah Syrian Resistance Syrian Social Nationalist Party
Battles and wars	Syrian Civil War 2013 Latakia offensive^[9] 2014 Latakia offensive^[10] Inter-rebel conflict during the Syrian Civil War 2015 Idlib offensive Battle of Idlib (2015) Northwestern Syria offensive (April–June 2015) Al-Ghab offensive (July–August 2015) 2015–16 Latakia offensive 2016 Latakia offensive Northwestern Syria offensive (April 2019–present)