Al-Tawhid Brigade

al-Tawhid Brigade
لواء التوحيد
Leaders
  • Abdul Qader Saleh †[1][2]
    (Top Commander July 2012–November 2013)
  • Adnan Bakkour †[3]
    (Top Commander November 2013–January 2014)
  • Abdelaziz Salameh[4]
    (Top Commander January 2014-?)
  • Maj. Mohammed Hamadeen[5]
    (Free North Brigade)
  • Col. Yusef al-Jader †[6]
    (Senior commander in Aleppo)
  • Yussef al-Abbas †[1]
    (Intelligence chief)
Dates of operation18 July 2012—2014 (central group, some remnants still use the name)
Group(s)
HeadquartersAleppo, Mare', and Tell Rifaat
Active regions
of Syria[9]
IdeologySunni Islamism
Size10,000 (own claim) (Nov 2012)[10]
13,000 (Sep 2013)[11][8]
Part of
Allies Qatar
al-Nusra Front[17][18]
Ahrar ash-Sham[19]
Jaysh al-Islam[19]
Sham Legion[20]
Kurdish Front (2014)[21]
 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (2013)[22]
Opponents Syria
Ghuraba al-Sham Front[18]
 Hezbollah
 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (2014)[20]
People's Protection Units (2012–2014)[23]
Battles and warsSyrian Civil War
Designated as a terrorist group by Syria[25]
 United Arab Emirates[26]
Succeeded by
Levant Front

The al-Tawhid Brigade (Arabic: لواء التوحيد, romanized: Liwa al-Tawhid, lit. 'Brigade of monotheism'), named after Tawhid, the "oneness of God," was an armed Islamist insurgent group involved in the Syrian Civil War.

The al-Tawhid Brigade was formed in 2012.[27][28] Reportedly backed by Qatar,[29] al-Tawhid was considered one of the biggest groups in northern Syria, dominating most of the insurgency around Aleppo.[28]

Its leader Abdul Qader Saleh was killed in November 2013 in a devastating Syrian Air Force airstrike.[30]

  1. ^ a b Syria air strike hits Islamist brigade leadership Al Ahram (AFP), 15 November 2013
  2. ^ Top Syrian rebel commander dies from wounds (Reuters), 18 November 2013
  3. ^ Al-Qaeda fighters kill Syrian rebel leaders Al-Jazeera, 2 February 2014
  4. ^ "The Levant Front: Can Aleppo's Rebels Unite?". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 26 December 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  5. ^ Jeffrey Bolling (29 August 2012). "Rebel Groups in northern Aleppo Province" (PDF). Institute for the Study of War.
  6. ^ "Free Syrian Army top commander killed in Syria's Aleppo". Al-Ahram. 15 December 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  7. ^ Jamie Dettmer (16 September 2013). "Rebels Furious Over Diplomatic Deal on Syria". Voice of America. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  8. ^ a b Antonio Pampliega (15 September 2013). "Syrian Rebels Express Disdain For Obama And Other World Leaders". HuffPost (Agence France-Presse). Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  9. ^ "A Dunon on Twitter".
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Atassi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Jamie Dettmer (16 September 2013). "Rebels Furious Over Diplomatic Deal on Syria". Voice of America. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  12. ^ "Syria - The Free Syrian Army". Vice. 22 December 2012. Archived from the original on 18 May 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  13. ^ Jonathan Steele (12 September 2014). "Syrian Kurdish leader hails 'Euphrates Volcano' fight against IS". Middle East Eye.
  14. ^ Hussam al-Omar (19 November 2020). "Raqqa after three years of "Islamic State's expulsion"". enabbaladi.net. Retrieved 14 June 2024. The newly formed coalition of factions consisted of the al-Tawhid Brigade (the eastern sector), [...] the Kurdish Front, the Kurdish People's Protection Units, and the Kurdish Women's Protection Units.
  15. ^ Lister 2015, p. 285: "[...] a highly unusual alliance between the Kurdish YPG, and six FSA factions and the Islamic Front's Liwa al-Tawhid. Announced formally on 10 September, the Burkan al-Furat (Euphrates Volcano coalition) aimed to fight back against IS [...]"
  16. ^ "The Revolutionary Command Council: Rebel Unity in Syria?". Carnegie Endowment of International Peace. 1 December 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  17. ^ "The Story of Al-Tawhid Brigade: Fighting for Sharia in Syria". Al-Monitor (As-Safir). 22 October 2013. Archived from the original on 25 September 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  18. ^ a b "Warring Syrian rebel groups abduct each other's members". Times of Israel. 18 May 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
  19. ^ a b Aron Lund (24 September 2013). "New Islamist Bloc Declares Opposition to National Coalition and US Strategy". Syria Comment. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  20. ^ a b "Freedom, Human Rights, Rule of Law: The Goals and Guiding Principles of the Islamic Front and Its Allies". Democratic Revolution, Syrian Style. 17 May 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  21. ^ van Wilgenburg, Wladimir (27 March 2014). "Syrian Kurds, rebels find common enemy in ISIS". Al Monitor. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  22. ^ Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi (10 October 2013). "Analyzing Events in Azaz: A Detailed Look At ISIS' Takeover".
  23. ^ "Syrian Rebels Clash With Kurdish Militias". Al Monitor. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  24. ^ a b Metzger, Nils (28 March 2013). "Bürgerkrieg in Syria: Jedem seine eigene Rebellengruppe" [Civil war in Syria: Everyone has their own rebel group]. TAZ (in German). Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  25. ^ "Anti-government extremist organizations in Syria".
  26. ^ "UAE Cabinet approves list of designated terrorist organisations, groups". 16 November 2014.
  27. ^ Cite error: The named reference bbc2012 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  28. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference TRAC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  29. ^ Syrian air raid kills rebel commander in Aleppo: activists Reuters, 14 November 2013
  30. ^ Sly, Liz; Morris, Loveday (18 November 2013). "Syrian rebel leader Abdul Qader Saleh dies of injuries sustained in airstrike". The Washington Post. Retrieved 26 February 2019.