Army of Conquest
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.
Army of Conquest | |
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جيش الفتح | |
Dates of operation | 24 March 2015 – 27 January 2017 |
Group(s) | |
Headquarters | Idlib, Syria |
Active regions | Syria |
Ideology | Sunni Islamism |
Size | 50,000+ |
Allies |
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Opponents | |
Battles and wars | Syrian Civil War |
The alliance was formed in March 2015 under the supervision and coordination of Saudi cleric Abdullah al-Muhaysini. It consists of Islamist rebel factions mainly active in the Idlib Governorate, with some factions active in the Hama and Latakia Governorates. In the course of the following months, it seized most of Idlib Governorate.
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. 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."