Army of Conquest

Army of Conquest
جيش الفتح
Dates of operation24 March 2015[1] – 27 January 2017[citation needed]
Group(s)
HeadquartersIdlib, Syria
Active regionsSyria
IdeologySunni Islamism[9]
Size50,000+[10][better source needed]
Allies
Opponents
Battles and warsSyrian Civil War

The Army of Conquest (Arabic: جيش الفتح) or Jaish al-Fatah, abbreviated JaF, was a joint command center of Sunni Islamist Syrian rebel factions participating in the Syrian Civil War.

The alliance was formed in March 2015 under the supervision and coordination of Saudi cleric Abdullah al-Muhaysini. It consisted of Islamist rebel factions mainly active in the Idlib Governorate, with some factions active in the Hama and Latakia Governorates.[9] In the course of the following months, it seized most of Idlib Governorate.[16][17]

The Institute for the Study of War has described Jaish al-Fatah as an "anti-regime" and "anti-Hezbollah" powerbroker operating in the Idlib, Hama, Daraa and Quneitra Governorates.[18] Jaish al-Fatah has been described by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change as an "al-Qaeda led coalition" which was working towards the ultimate goal of creating an "Islamic state."[19]

  1. ^ "News Update 3-25-15". Syria Direct. Archived from the original on 28 March 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  2. ^ "Hoping to break into encircled east Aleppo, rebels surprise with attack from southwest". Syria Direct. 1 August 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  3. ^ "Jund al Aqsa". Standford Mapping Terrorism. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  4. ^ "Mark on Twitter: "Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zenki join Jaish al-Fatah in northern". Twitter.com. 24 September 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  5. ^ "Jaysh al Fath coalition launches new offensive in Aleppo province". The Long War Journal.
  6. ^ "Hassan Hassan حسن on Twitter: "Zinki and Suqour al-Sham (recently defected from Ahrar al-Sham) join Jaish al-Fateh (which includes Ahrar al-Sham)."". Twitter.com. 27 September 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  7. ^ "Army of Conquest" returns again and includes the Turkistan Party". Arabi 21. 2 May 2016. Archived from the original on 3 December 2021.
  8. ^ Neil Hauer (19 April 2018). "North Caucasian Militants May Be Seeking Syria Exit". Atlantic Council. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  9. ^ a b "Rebels seek to storm Idlib amid chemical fears". NOW. 25 March 2015. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  10. ^ Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham: Hardliners take over Syria's opposition, The Week, 29 August 2017
  11. ^ "Syrian rebels combat ISIS, Hezbollah in Qalamoun". ARA News. 15 May 2015. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  12. ^ "الغد برس". Archived from the original on 10 July 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  13. ^ ""عنصر بعصائب اهل الحق يناشد للافراج عنه من جيش الفتح بحلب"". Archived from the original on 22 August 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  14. ^ a b "Jihadist coalition captures checkpoints around city of Idlib". Long War Journal. 27 March 2015.
  15. ^ "Al Qaeda and allies form coalition to battle Syrian regime in Idlib". Long War Journal. 24 March 2015.
  16. ^ Ryan Rifai (6 June 2015). "Syrian group claims control of Idlib province". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  17. ^ Kim Sengupta (12 May 2015). "Turkey and Saudi Arabia alarm the West by backing Islamist extremists the Americans had bombed in Syria". The Independent.
  18. ^ Jennifer Cafarella; Genevieve Casagrande (7 October 2015). "Syrian Opposition Guide" (PDF). Backgrounder. Institute for the Study of War: 3. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  19. ^ "If the Castle Falls: Exploring the ideology and objectives of the Syrian rebellion" (PDF). Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2022.