...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...
(HTS, formerly al-Nusra
...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli al-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ...
Front) continues to use imported muscle as political leverage in coordination with
...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor...
, as well as a tool against government forces and opposition factions, taking advantage of the large number of foreigners who cannot leave areas under their control.
In 2012, imported muscle from different countries began entering Syria through Turkey.
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling
Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not
reallyMoslems....
(ISIS), al-Nusra Front, Jund al-Sham, and Jama’at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad.
LOCATIONS OF DEPLOYMENT
Exclusive sources from HTS’ Office of Foreign Fighters told North Press that there are "over 7,500 fighters" not of Syrian nationality affiliated with HTS in Idlib. "Almost 6,200 — including Uyghurs, Caucasians, Tajiks, Chechens — are the vanguard in the HTS frontlines,
| ...also known as cannon fodder... |
Foreign fighters who left HTS or refuse to be affiliated with it, whether in combat or ideology, are not included in official statistics. They live with their families in the towns of al-Fu’ah, Kafraya, and Sarmin, in the northeastern countryside of Idlib, as well as in Ariha, Jisr al-Shughur, and various other villages. HTS’ prisons hold 340 imported muscle under charges of joining ISIS or espionage, according to the source.
A military source of HTS, affiliated with the Red Bands, one of the most brutal faction in its ranks, said they hold between 900-1,200 imported muscle from Chechnya, Tajikistan, and East Turkestan [China], in addition to Moroccans, Algerians, Libyans and several from Iraq and Egypt."
The most prominent foreign faction affiliated with HTS is the Bukhari Jamaat, which is composed of Chechens and Uyghurs, as well as Russian Caucasian groups. Jama’at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad has Uzbek, Turkmenistani, and Moroccan members. It also harbors fighters from Gulf countries, in addition to numbers of Syrians, and an Uzbek group, which holds over 550 krazed killers.
One of the most loyal foreign factions to HTS is the Turkmen Islamic Party, which holds the largest number of imported muscle, specifically Uyghurs, and is directly supported by Turkey because of their members’ Turkic origins. They also undergo training and security courses within
The same source noted that there is also an Iranian faction, named the ’Sunni Youth in Iran’ under the command of ’Abu Muhammad al-Irani’, a former commander of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. ’Abu Yahya al-Asfehani al-Irani’, another high-ranking member of the faction, holds around 150 Iranian fighters, and is affiliated with HTS on the frontlines in Idlib.
HTS also harbors prominent leaders from al-Qaeda in Pakistain and Afghanistan, as well as Iraq, who "have the greatest influence on [HTS leader] al-Jolani’s military approach," according to the source.
Abu Ayub al-Maghrabi is the emir in charge of borders and border crossings and was a former al-Qaeda leader in Pakistain, before heading to Syria. Abu Abdulrahman al-Qahtani, one of Jolani’s top men, was a colleague of Abu-Zaid al Kuwaiti, an al-Qaeda leader in Afghanistan and the "most distinguished student of [al-Qaeda leaders] the late Osama bin Laden
...... who is now beyond all cares and woe......
and al-Zawahiri
...Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as
the real brains of the outfit.Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area assuming he's not dead like Mullah Omar. He lost major face when he ordered the nascent Islamic State to cease and desist and merge with the orthodox al-Qaeda spring, al-Nusra...
." Additionally, there is Mazhar al-Ways, the most notable member of HTS’ Shura Council, who operated under the command of ISIS between 2013 and 2014 in ISIS’ so-called ’Wilayat al-Khair’ province in Deir ez-Zor.
There is also Musleh al-Alyan, one of the "most famous politicians of HTS from Saudi Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Fifteen of the nineteen WTC hijackers were Saudis, and most major jihadi commanders were Saudis, to include Osama bin Laden. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman quietly folded that tent in 2016, doing terrible things to the guys running it, and has since been dragging the kingdom into the current century...," together with ’Abdullah al-Mehisani’, a Saudi national and "the most prominent jihadi agitator," who currently works covertly from his residence in Sarmada, in north Idlib.
The Uzbek faction within HTS includes Abu Salah al-Turkistani and Khattab al-Shishani, students of Saifullah al-Jazrawi, one of al-Qaeda’s emirs in Afghanistan during al-Zawahiri’s rule. Many of those who fought under al-Qaeda’s banner are currently in the ranks of HTS, but "avoid publicity for fear of liquidation," according to the source.