Ansar al-Khilafah was an armed rebel group participating in the Syrian Civil War against the Syrian government and its allies. The group was founded in the

Aleppo Governorate Aleppo Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥalab'' ) is one of the fourteen Governorates of Syria, governorates of Syria. It is the most populous governorate in Syria with a population of more than 4,867,000 (2011 Est.), almost 23% of the t ...

by five local

Al-Nusra Al-Nusra Front or Jabhat al-Nusra or Jabhat Nusrat Ahl al-Sham, also known as Front for the Conquest of the Levant, and also later known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham was a Salafi-jihadist organization that fought against Ba'athist Syria, Ba'athist ...

units and upon its foundation declared allegiance to

Hizb ut-Tahrir Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT; ) is an international pan-Islamist and Islamic fundamentalist political organization whose stated aim is the re-establishment of the Islamic caliphate to unite the Muslim community (called ''ummah'') and implement sharia glo ...

Background

Upon the establishment of Ansar al-Khilafah in late 2012 the group pledged allegiance to Hizb ut-Tahrir, an international, pan-Islamic political organization, with the stated aim of the re-establishment of the

Caliphate A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

, during a video statement. During the video an unnamed commander stated the aims of the group as "That we will work with the sincere people of our

Ummah ' (; ) is an Arabic word meaning Muslim identity, nation, religious community, or the concept of a Commonwealth of the Muslim Believers ( '). It is a synonym for ' (, lit. 'the Islamic nation'); it is commonly used to mean the collective com ...

to establish the Islamic Khilafah state, and to use it to end decades of colonization and enslavement," the commander added regarding groups cooperating with western nations, "And indeed we invite our brothers who are fighters in the sincere brigades that they walk our path, and to declare their release from being tied to these new agents

f the West F, or f, is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet and many modern alphabets influenced by it, including the modern English alphabet and the alphabets of all other modern western European languages. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounc ...

and we warn them against offering compromises in their religion, for the sake of receiving money or weapons. Because certainly, therein lies their destruction."

History

After the establishment of the group in December 2012, the following month in January 2013 a branch of the group was declared in the

Homs Governorate Homs Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥimṣ'') is one of the fourteen Governorates of Syria, governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in central Syria. Its geography differs in various locations in the governorate, from to . ...

, in the Homs' branch declaration video the branch's commander stated, "We have an absolute belief in the obligation of implementing the sharia slamic lawin all aspects of life, and the institutions of the State and resumption of the Islamic way of life." In the summer of 2013 the group along with the

Al-Nusra Front Al-Nusra Front or Jabhat al-Nusra or Jabhat Nusrat Ahl al-Sham, also known as Front for the Conquest of the Levant, and also later known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham was a Salafi-jihadist organization that fought against Ba'athist Syria, Ba'athist ...

took control of the town of

Khan al-Asal Khan al-Assal () is a district of Aleppo city in northern Syria. It is administratively a sub-district of Aleppo, which is a part of the Mount Simeon District in the Aleppo Governorate. Khan al-Assal is located west-southwest of the center of Alep ...

in the western Aleppo countryside from pro-government forces and executed several pro-government fighters in the town. In 2015 the group's branch in Aleppo joined the

Ansar al-Sharia Ansar al-Sharia or Ansar al-Shariah is a name used by a collection of radical or militant Islamist groups or militias, in at least eight countries. While they share names and ideology, they lack a unified command structure. *Ansar al-Sharia (Yemen ...

alliance alongside Ahrar al-Sham, Al-Nusra and

Jabhat Ansar al-Din Jabhat Ansar al-Din () 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 affilia ...

References

{{Reflist Military units and factions of the Syrian civil war Factions of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant