The Jaish al-Mujahideen militant group became the first major casualty of the so-called “rebel civil war” in the Syrian province of Idlib.
On January 24 Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda) launched a military operation against Jaish al-Mujahideen.
In less than 24 hours, Jabhat Fatah al-Sham units seized Jaish al-Mujahideen’s local HQ in Sarmada, including arms and ammunition depots in Idlib and the group’s HQs in Anadan and Atarib in western Aleppo.
According to local sources, in many cases Jaish al-Mujahideen militants just run away from Jabhat Fatah al-Sham. As result of the clashes, Jaish al-Mujahideen was defated and the vestiges of the group allegedly joined Ahrar al-Sham.
Before the conflict, Jaish al-Mujahideen’s manpower was estimated as 8,000 fighters.
Jaish al-Mujahideen was CIA-backed salafist group, described by the mainstream media as a “moderate rebel group.” Largest former component of Jaish al-Mujahideen was Nour al-Din al-Zenki which supports Jabhat Fatah al-Sham in the ongoing rebel civil war in Idlib.
Dont tell me this has nothing to do with astana.
dirty games to oust all moderate factions from idlib and aleppo in lieu of upcoming peace talks and ceasefires. Dirty dirty politics by jordan, KSA, qatar, and the remnants of the US/CIA/deep state pro-Obama policy pigs
What moderate fractions ???? Are you talking about those head cutter moderates who beheaded a child some days back?
Yes, some idiots, like US, Turkey, call them “moderates”. Western leftists love them too.
US weird program of letting cia spookes arm jihadists is backfiring all the time. This started in Afghanistan and is still continuing. Trump will save the US lots of money and prestige aborting the program.
The only place in Syria where the US has real uncontested influence is within Rojava andthat is a solid position they can use.
Agreed , we hope this failed program is aborted quickly . Regarding Rojava , do you see US backing the Kurds into Turkey and so ejecting Erdogan ?
I agree with you 100%. I only said that so we know who we talking about …. the ‘FSA’ (lol) and the other islamists that are not allied with al qaeda and ISIS and like to think they are not as hardline as them. ‘Rebels’ or ‘moderate’ or ‘freedom fighters’ they are not!
ISIS looting weapons and armors from Iraq army in Mosul, Jabhat Fateh Al sham(al nusra) looting arms from Jaish al-Mujahideen are all the US tactics to supply arms and manpower to the head chopper scums. It seems CIA is not ready to learn lessons
CIA does learn lessons, lessons of the tactics to use to prop-up jihadists to declare caliphates and emirates
One down.
I keep hearing that Al-Nusra only has 15,000 fighters but they are all over the place and just rolled Mujahideen. I think that the west has been undercounting Nusra. Nusra is the one that would attract the most foreign fighters to replenish their ranks.
same with ISIS, remember when Pentagon claimed there were only 12,5K left of them? then 14,000 fighters stormed Deir Ez Zor and split the army/NDF held area in half, there is crapton of them fighting in Mosul, Al-Bab, some 4,000 participated in capture of Palmyra, there’s also some 3,000+ near border with israeli-held golan heights and some 2,000 in Southern Damascus city itself.
As for Jabhat Fateh Al-Sham, considering over 2016 they received lotso f foreign recruits and lots of fighters/ wannabe-fighters from enclaves captured by SAA, they should number some 40,000-50,000, just a rough estimate, while ISIS should have more fighters than that, possibly in the high 5-digits.
“14,000 fighters stormed Deir Ez Zor” Do you get your numbers from a “news” story on the net? ISUS numbers are less than you think, and are decreasing daily. They are over stretched, and will lose further manpower, reserves, and hardware. Daesh is giving up territory for a reason. This is the proof in the pudding.
Never underestimate your opponent. ISIS is still the largest rebel group and by far most powerful in terms of equipment and territorial control. SAA is stretched though, look what happenned in northern Hama,Palmyra and Deir Ez Zor.In my opinion SAA should consolidate its forces and instead of trying to hold everything, give up some territory to fight elsewhere, preferably take on the pockets of terror in Damascus governorate (mainly Eastern Ghouta) and eastern Homs, gas there is of essence.
ISUS is a tough nut to crack, they excel in mobility and surprise. Some forces just want to run away from fight (FSA at Al Bab). I think that Daesh numbers are down because loses are not being replaced by many new recruits. SAA should not give up some territory unless they are forced to. The Jihadist in Idlib seem to be in hibernation for now (A good time to strike ISUS). East Ghouta may fall within 6 months? Deir Ezzor must hold, this may be where ISUS back is broken!
While this civil war is probably music to the ears of the Assad regime and the Russians, they should remain vigilant. Chances are once Al-Nusra comes out on top it will resume its war against the Assad regime again. And if the SAA gets caught napping on the job again, as it often does, chances are Al Nusra will make some significant gains, which means the Tiger Forces will have to be pulled from whatever front they’re making actual progress to prop the failing front instead. Causing further setbacks.
downvote just for the phrase “assad regime”
Downvote whatever you want, he is still a dictator along the old classic Arab mold, along with shitloads of corruption and a secret police to bring down a ton of hurt on anyone who speaks out against him. He’s about as democratic as my left foot. That he’s preferable to any of the Jihadists factions with their ideals of creating a totalitarian caliphate doesn’t change who or what he is. It’s just that Assad wants you to shut up while he lines his pockets, and if you do you can do whatever you want. Whereas the Jihadists want to control your very heart and soul as well.
I’ll take secular dictator of that mold over Jihadists fanatics any day of the week. But I have no illusions as to who or what Assad and his regime is.
Totally agree with you. There are no “guys in white hats” in Syria, but IS is an absolute evil, while Assad regime is less evil, with whom it’s possible to collaborate, and such collaboration may be a reliable ground for better life for all Syrian people in the future.
Ahrar sham used to be Co-sponsored by turkey and qatar. When qatar abandoned ahrar sham, it signaled it would help the saudis and their Nusra mercenaries eliminate them. Jaish mujahideen was co-sponsored too but is now dismembered. Apparently qatar controls the zinki brigade, perhaps up to 5,000. Ahrar sham is under a lot of pressure now. Turkey can’t pay mercenaries as much money as the Gulf can. They’re outnumbered.
The IS is in fact a joke of a relatively small and poorly trained army. Under normal circumstances, it should not be a big deal to take them out in a matter of weeks. The fact that these groups still exist in Syria showcases the current state of the Syrian military. It also reveals an alarming lack of legitimacy of the national project as such. Assad is an old-school dictator and must completely reform the entire political system to ensure the continuity of the state in the next decades, since jihadists seem to offer quite appealing “alternatives” for many young Syrians. They offer ideals, heroic narratives, and what not. Terrorism wasn´t just seeded or implanted from above in Syria. Foreign agressors first had to encounter a fertile breeding ground!, an already weak and fragile state so to speak. I believe that the biggest question of all is what to do with ex-terrorists, and how to really re-integraate them into normal society. Confessing superficial allegiance to Assad is a poor indicator. Eventhough some groups might give up their arms, their radical ideology and mindset doesn´t simply disappear and will be passed from one generation to another. Wether Assad wins or not, it is very likely that we will see a new wave of terroorism in the future if the Syrian government fails to fix this complicated issue. Apparently, there are quite a few Syrians who apparently reject the national identity as law-obeying secular citizens. Will Assad be able to re-convert the ex-terrorists?. I think that neither brute force alone nor a leissez-faire style (where terrorists are oficially pardoned and legally rehabilitated) can fix this long-term problem.