Abu Jilibib Tubasi and Abu Khadija al-Urduni, members of the Guardians of Religion's shura council, left Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (JFS) in 2016 due to its disassociation from Al-Qaeda and emphasis on local Syrian politics.[26] In 2017, JFS officially disbanded and merged with Noor al-Deen al-Zenki, Liwa al-Haqq, Ansar al-Din Front, Jaysh al-Sunna and elements of Ahrar al-Sham to form Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).[27] Following a series of assassinations of HTS leaders in 2017; AQ leaders Abu Mussab al-Libi, Abu Julaybib al-Ordoni, and Sami al-Oraydi were arrested by HTS in November 2017,[28][29] in an attempt to stave off the formation of another Al-Qaeda affiliated group in Syria.[27]
In November 2017, Jaysh al-Badia and Jaysh al-Malahim defected from HTS, pledging allegiance to Al-Qaeda and launched military operations to expand its influence in Idlib.[11] This brought them into conflict with HTS, which was making efforts to unite Idlib under a civilian administration. HTS accused Al-Qaeda of undermining the Syrian revolution and responded by initiating an anti-AQ crackdown, arresting several leaders of Al-Qaeda Central.[27][11] On 27 February 2018, Jaysh al-Badia, Jaysh al-Malahim and Jaysh al-Sahel united under the leadership of Abu Humam al-Shami to form Hurras al-Din; announcing its allegiance to Al-Qaeda. In a statement, Hurras al-Din called upon all Islamist factions to set aside differences and launch a co-ordinated military response in the wake of horrific atrocities of Assad regime during its Siege of Eastern Ghouta.[30]
While the organization officially rejects infighting between other rebel groups, it has been entangled in armed conflict with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham since 2020.[31] In 2019, Hurras al-Din was reported to be at its height of power, with around 2,500 armed fighters under its command. After its full-frontal conflict with HTS since late 2020, it has suffered countless losses and has been subsequently expelled from Idlib. The group now mostly operate clandestinely in various parts of Syria; calling for operations against forces of the Ba'athist regime, Russia as well as against United States and its allies. It has also urged PalestinianIslamist groups to step up its insurgency against Israel to "liberate Al-Aqsa Mosque".[7]
^www.fildisiajans.com.tr, Fildişi Ajans, Danışmanlık ve Yazılım. "ORSAM-Center for Middle Eastern Studies". ORSAM-Center for Middle Eastern Studies. Archived from the original on 2021-01-15. Retrieved 2022-02-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)