Ansar al-Din Front
Jabhat Ansar al-Din (Arabic: جبهة أنصار الدين, The Supporters of the Religion Front) is a jihadist alliance that announced itself on 25 July 2014, during the Syrian Civil War. The alliance contains two groups: Harakat Sham al-Islam and Harakat Fajr ash-Sham al-Islamiya; it had declared that was not affiliated with any other "parties". The Green Battalion was originally a signatory, but around October 2014, it swore allegiance to the leader of Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar and was integrated into that faction. The alliance had attempted to maintain neutrality in the conflict between ISIL and other groups. On January 28, 2017, it joined with numerous other factions to form Tahrir al-Sham, though portions of it left HTS in February 2018.
| Supporters of the Religion Front | |
|---|---|
| جبهة أنصار الدين Ansar al-Din | |
| Leaders | Abu Abdullah al-Fajr Abu Abdullah al-Shami |
| Dates of operation | 25 July 2014 – 28 January 2017 1 February 2018 – present (splinter faction) |
| Group(s) | (Member groups of Ansar al-Din Front - Harakat Fajr ash-Sham al-Islamiya)
|
| Active regions | Aleppo Governorate Idlib Governorate Homs Governorate Hama Governorate Latakia Governorate |
| Ideology | Salafist jihadism |
| Size | 1,000 |
| Part of | Tahrir al-Sham Rouse the Believers Operations Room (splinter faction) |
| Allies | Al-Nusra Front Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria Ahrar al-Sham |
| Opponents | Syria Syrian Democratic Forces Hezbollah Liwa Fatemiyoun Iran |
| Battles and wars | Syrian Civil War |
The groups involved in the coalition have diverse memberships; Harakat Fajr Sham al-Islamiya numbers mostly Syrians from the Aleppo area, while Harakat Sham al-Islam was formed around a core of Moroccan fighters, the Green Battalion mainly had fighters from Saudi Arabia and Jaish al-Mujahireen wal-Ansar was formed by Chechen and other Russian-speaking fighters. On 23 September 2015, Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar left and joined Jabhat al-Nusra.