The Free Idlib Army ( ''Jaysh ʾIdlib al-Ḥarr'') was a Syrian rebel coalition consisting of 3 armed groups from northwestern

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

affiliated with the

Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA; ) is a Big tent, big-tent coalition of decentralized Syrian opposition (2011–2024), Syrian opposition rebel groups in the Syrian civil war founded on 29 July 2011 by Colonel Riad al-Asaad and six officers who defe ...

: the 13th Division, the Northern Division, and the Mountain Hawks Brigade

History

On 25 August 2016, the commander of the Northern Division, Lieutenant Colonel Fares Bayoush announced that talks are made in

Idlib Idlib (, ; also spelt Idleb or Edlib) is a city in northwestern Syria, and is the capital of the Idlib Governorate. It has an elevation of nearly above sea level, and is southwest of Aleppo. It is located near the border with Turkey. History ...

on the unification of the three FSA-affiliated rebel groups in northwestern Syria. He stated that eventually the merger will be complete and the three component groups will dissolve into the main faction. At its establishment on 19 September 2016, the coalition aims to prioritise fighting the

Syrian government The government of Syria takes place in a presidential system and is currently in a transitionary period under and led by a transitional government. The seat of the government is located in Damascus, Syria. On 8 December 2024, after the succ ...

and establish relations and coordinate with the Salafist factions of the

Army of Conquest The Army of Conquest () or Jaish al-Fatah, abbreviated JaF, was a joint command center of Sunni Islamist Syrian rebel factions participating in the Syrian Civil War. The alliance was formed in March 2015 under the supervision and coordinati ...

, including

Ahrar al-Sham Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya (), commonly referred to as Ahrar al-Sham, was a coalition of multiple Sunni Islamist units that coalesced into a single brigade and later a division in order to fight against the Syrian Government led by Bas ...

and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham,

al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

's renamed

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 ...

. However an opposition source stated that the Free Idlib Army will not closely cooperate with Jabhat Fateh al-Sham. Just a day before, the Mountain Hawks Brigade withdrew from the front against ISIL near Jarabulus and Azaz in order to head to southern

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

and

. The commander aims for an eventual full merger between the 3 groups after forming a new command structure. On 23 September Russian warplanes bombed a cave in Taybat al-Imam, killing 22 fighters from the Free Idlib Army. In early October a number of Mountain Hawks Brigade fighters defected to join Jabhat Fateh al-Sham due to several disagreements, mainly due to the established of the Free Idlib Army. In November, the deputy commanding general of the Free Idlib Army,

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

Mohammed Khaled Bayoush, came under fire from machine guns fired by unknown assailants while in his car near the town of

Kafr Nabl Kafr Nabl (, also spelled Kafranbel or Kafr Nabil) is a town administratively belonging to the Idlib Governorate and Ma'arrat al-Numan District in northwestern Syria. It is situated above sea level. In the 2004 census by the Syrian Central Bur ...

. The commander escaped without injury. On 25 December 2016, two FIA commanders were shot and killed in Maarat. Opposition activists accused

Jund al-Aqsa Jund al-Aqsa ( ''Jund al-‘Aqṣā'', "Soldiers of al-Aqsa"), known as Liwa al-Aqsa after 7 February 2017, was a Salafist jihadist organization that was active during the Syrian Civil War. Formerly known as Sarayat al-Quds, the group was founde ...

of conducting the

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

. The next day, the al-Nusra Front raided houses throughout Idlib and captured 16 FIA fighters from the Mountain Hawks Brigade. The rebels were captured on charges of participating in the Turkish military intervention in Syria. On 23 January 2017, the 13th Division of the FIA repelled an al-Nusra advance toward Maarat al-Nu'man. On 25 January 2017, the groups of fighters which left the Mountain Hawks Brigade in September 2016 for Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, returned, along with their leader, Lt. Col. Nasha'at Haj Ahmad. On 31 January 2017, Lt. Col. Fares Bayoush resigned from his positions in the Northern Division and the Free Idlib Army, citing "

Black Standard The Black Banner or Black Standard (), also known as the Banner of the eagle () or simply as The Banner () is one of the Islamic flags flown by the Islamic prophet Muhammad according to Muslim tradition. It was historically used by Abu Musli ...

s" in Idlib. On 5 April 2017, a vehicle carrying Lt. Col. Ahmed al-Saud of the 13th Division and

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Ali al-Samahi,

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

of the Free Idlib Army, came under fire from

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) was a Sunni Islamist political organisation and paramilitary group involved in the Syrian civil war. It was formed on 28January 2017 as a merger between several armed groups: Jaysh al-Ahrar (an Ahrar al-Sham facti ...

fighters at a checkpoint near Khan al-Subul, which was under complete control of HTS. Al-Samahi and another fighter was killed in the shootout while al-Saud was wounded and was transferred to Turkey for treatment. As a result of internal disputes between the 13th Division and the other factions in the Free Idlib Army, some members of the former reportedly released a statement on 11 April which claimed that the 13th Division will no longer be part of the Free Idlib Army and it will instead join the "central operations room" led by Col. Fadlallah al-Haji of the

Sham Legion The Sham Legion (, ''Faylaq al-Shām'' lit. Levant Legion) was an alliance of Sunni Islamist rebel groups formed in March 2014, during the Syrian Civil War. The alliance was formed from 19 different groups, some of which were previously affil ...

. This was denied by Lt. Col. Ahmed al-Saud, the overall commander of the 13th Division, who called the statement a "false report". Al-Saud called on all the member groups of the FIA to integrate under one organization. On 11 July 2017, the Free Idlib Army appointed new commanders: Lt. Col. Suhaib Leoush (overall commander, replaced Capt. Hassan Haj Ali), Capt. Naji Mustafa (deputy commander, replaced 1st Lt. Muhammad Bayoush), and Capt. Dumar Qanatri (chief of staff, replaced Col. Ali Samahi, who was killed in April). In May 2018, along with 10 other rebel groups in northwestern Syria, the Free Idlib Army formed the

National Front for Liberation National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ...

, which was officially announced on 28 May. Lt. Col. Suhaib Leoush was appointed as the formation's deputy commander. On 7 March 2019, Amin Haj Ali, a field commander of the free Idlib Army, was killed by an IED in southern Idlib. The unit subsequently fought alongside other rebel factions against the government's northwestern Syria offensive from April 2019. On 31 July 2019, Col. Afif Suleiman, commander of the Free Idlib Army and member of the National Front for Liberation's command council, was arrested by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham's security force at a checkpoint near Darat Izza as he was driving from

Afrin District Afrin District (, Kurdish: Herêma Efrînê) is a district of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria. The administrative centre is the city of Afrin. At the 2004 census, the district had a population of 172,095. Also available in English: Afrin ...

to the northern Idlib Governorate. Suleiman was detained in HTS's Oqab Prison in Jabal Zawiya, and released two days later. On 11 November 2023, the

announced that the Free Idlib Army and 23rd Division were merged as 60th Infantry Division. At the

Syrian Revolution Victory Conference The Syrian Revolution Victory Conference, officially titled the Conference for Announcing the Victory of the Syrian Revolution (), was held at the Presidential Palace in Damascus, Syria, on 29 January 2025. It was attended by the commanders of v ...

, which was held on 29 January 2025, most factions of the armed opposition, including the Syrian National Army and its components, announced their dissolution and were incorporated into the newly formed Ministry of Defense.

Equipment

The Free Idlib Army is known for possessing several new

BM-21 Grad The BM-21 "Grad" () is a self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher designed in the Soviet Union. The system and the M-21OF rocket were first developed in the early 1960s, and saw their first combat use in March 1969 during the Sino-S ...

multiple rocket launcher A multiple rocket launcher (MRL) or multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) is a type of rocket artillery system that contains multiple rocket launcher, launchers which are fixed to a single weapons platform, platform, and shoots its rocket (weapon ...

s which they used to bombard

Syrian Army The Syrian Army is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. Up until the fall of the Assad regime, the Syrian Arab Army existed as a land force branch of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces, which dominanted the military service of the fo ...

positions in southern

during the 2016 Aleppo summer campaign. In September 2016, one of the group's commanders,

Fares Bayoush Fares Bayoush (, born 1970) is a former lieutenant colonel in the Syrian Arab Air Force who defected to the Free Syrian Army in 2012. Military activities in the Syrian Air Force In 1990, Fares Bayoush joined a Syrian Air Force technical institu ...

, confirmed that the rocket systems were newly supplied from foreign sponsors, and would be used in battlefronts in Aleppo, Hama, and Latakia.

References

{{Syrian Civil War Free Syrian Army Anti-Assad factions of the Syrian civil war Anti-ISIL factions in Syria Operations rooms of the Syrian civil war

History

Equipment

See also

References