Hayat Tahrir al-Sham

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham - the group represents the latest iteration of the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda - the terrorist organization Jebhat al-Nusra. Banned in Russia.

Its goal for 2022 is stated in the title - to free Syria from the "Assad regime."

Structure

Despite the media drift of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham towards a moderate and negotiable political force, it is still a full-fledged armed formation.

Since May 2022, the terrorist organization has structurally consisted of 10 brigades named after four righteous caliphs and six of the 10 associates of the Prophet "delighted with the good news of Paradise during their lifetime":

• Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Brigade,
• Umar Farruk Brigade,
• Brigade "Usman ibn Affan,"
• Brigade "Ali ibn Abi Talib,"
• Brigade "Talha ibn Ubaidullah,"
• Brigade "Zubeir ibn Awwam,"
• Brigade "Abdurrahman ibn Auf,"
• Brigade "Saad ibn Abu Waqqas,"
• Brigade "Said ibn Zayed,"
• "Abu Ubeida ibn Jarrah" brigade.

Aktivs

By 2020, the leadership of the HTS has usurped power in Greater Idlib, establishing control over all spheres of life in the region.

As of June 2022

The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is trying to spread its influence in the northern regions of Aleppo, which are controlled by the Syrian National Army.

As of June 2022, the organization uses a civilian structure - the Government of Salvation, which is nothing more than a tool that provides "legal" and administrative mechanisms for the leadership of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham to seize the economy and resources in the region.

Under the Pod Kontrolem of HTS are:

Idlib's financial system:

• Main Currency Agency for Cash Management and Consumer Protection;
• Sham Bank is a bank established by HTS, created on the basis of its own company of the group's management for the transfer and exchange of money.

Borders with Turkey and other areas of Syria:

• the Bab al-Hawa border crossing;
• the border crossing of Dorrius;
• Ez-Zauf border crossing;
• Gazavia Checkpoint;
• Deir Ballut checkpoint.

Fuel:

• Watad Petroleum is HTS's own monopoly company, engaged in the import of oil and gas from Turkey,
• Kaf Business Company and Al-Shahba Combany are companies associated with HTS and created to create the appearance of market competition.

Communication and Internet:

SG SYR Connect Public Telecommunications Corporation.

And these are only the main assets of a terrorist organization in the territories controlled by it.

History

2024

A court in Moscow sentenced a blogger to 12 years for an attempted terrorist attack on Lubyanka

On October 23, 2024, the Second Western District Military Court sentenced blogger Nurmukhamad Sharipov, known as Xafizz.01, to 12 years in prison for preparing a terrorist attack near the FSB building on Lubyanka. According to the verdict, the convict will spend the first three years in prison, the rest in a maximum security colony.

According to RBC, Sharipov fully pleaded guilty to financing and participating in the Islamic State terrorist organization (banned in Russia). The guilty verdict was passed under articles on participation in a terrorist organization and financing of terrorism.

According to the case file, in June 2021, the accused, while at the Dubrovka shopping center in Moscow, joined the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorist organization (banned in Russia) and began to spread its ideas among followers of radical Islam. Read more here.

250 Ukrainian military arrived in Syria to train Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militants in the use of drones

In September 2024, Syrian state media reported that 250 Ukrainian troops arrived in the Idlib de-escalation zone to train Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militants in the use of drones.

The story of the cooperation of the Ukrainian regime with terrorist groups, which was first reported by Turkish publications, received its continuation. Now from Syria itself.

That in Africa, that in the Middle East, the only goal of the Ukrainian authorities is to create problems for the Russian Armed Forces.

2022: Dreams of legalization

HTS leader Abu Muhammad Julyani, despite his jihadi past, is trying to legalize the usurped power in Idlib in the eyes of the Western community.

Handing out interviews to Western and regional journalists, Giuliani is trying to distance himself as much as possible from al-Qaeda, which he publicly broke with in 2016, declaring a softer form of "political jihadism" that does not pose a threat to Western security.

The fact that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and its leadership are not the goal of American forces in the region suggests thoughts of existing contacts with US representatives, in which Turkey may mediate.

Moreover, the HTS was repeatedly suspected of transmitting data on the whereabouts of certain members of competing groups to the American side for their subsequent liquidation.

There is an opinion that it was the cooperation of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham with Western intelligence that caused the start of the campaign to exclude the armed group from the list of international terrorist organizations of the US State Department.

And although the HTS is significantly dependent on Turkey, the terrorist organization never participated in the military operations announced by the Turkish command.

2020: Russia and Turkey stop group attacks on Syrian troops

In March 2020, the leaders of Russia and Turkey reached agreements on a ceasefire, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham did not make any attempts to attack the positions of government troops.

Unlike SNA, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham's contacts with the Turkish side are non-public and go through intelligence.