Liwa Dawud (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

:لواء داوود, liwa' dawud, Banner of Dave) was an armed group in the Syrian Civil War headquartered in Samrin in the

Idlib Governorate Idlib Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Idlib'') is one of the 14 governorates of Syria. It is situated in northwestern Syria, bordering Turkey's Hatay province to the north, Aleppo Governorate to the east, Hama Governorate to the sou ...

and originated as a subunit in

Suqour al-Sham The Suqour al-Sham Brigades (, ), also known as the Falcons of the Levant Brigades, was an armed rebel organisation formed by Ahmed Abu Issa early in the Syrian Civil War to fight against the Government of Syria, Syrian Government. It was a mem ...

then later became an independent faction then joined the Jaysh al-Sham coalition until 2014 when the group along with its leader defected to the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...

during the course of the Inter-rebel conflict during the Syrian Civil War.

Background

Leadership

In an interview the group's leader Hassan Aboud stated that the rebels were corrupt profiteers. Other rebel groups were suspicious of Aboud and Liwa Dawud for being extremists and Islamic State affiliates in Idlib. Aboud and one of his brothers fought American forces during the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

, according to locals. Some suggested that the pair returned to Syria as a sleeper cell tied to

Al Qaeda in Iraq Al-Qaeda in Iraq (; AQI), was a Salafi jihadist organization affiliated with al-Qaeda. It was founded on 17 October 2004, and was led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi until its disbandment on 15 October 2006 after he was killed in a targeted bombing on ...

. Prior to the foundation of Liwa Dawud Hassan Aboud joined

in 2011. Other members of Jaysh al-Sham saw Liwa Dawud as a fifth-column element, Abboud also made frequent meetings with ISIL's leadership in 2013. After the 2013 meetings a campaign began of secret operations to sabotage other groups and it was during this period Aboud assumed leadership over Liwa Dawud. Also in 2013

Abu Ali al-Anbari Abd al-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli (; 1957 or 1959 March 2016), better known as Abu Ali al-Anbari (), was the governor for territories held by the Islamic State (IS) in Syria. Considered the IS second-in-command (along with Abu Muslim al-Turkmani, h ...

met with various rebel leaders in the

including Aboud and gave $2 million and weapons to Aboud and Liwa Dawud. The brigade has also been accused of assassinating

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 ...

leaders and of holding James Foley before turning him over to ISIL. Through the course of the group's existence its members had been suspected of carrying out assassinations against rivals and individuals who betrayed the group as part of their secret operations campaign. Al Sheikh Al Jaqia tried to establish a Sufi order near Idlib with around 1,115 inhabitants on October 20, 2011, to July 13, 2012, when Al Nusra Front barged in and killed around 20 major leaders of the project and imprisoned around 700 suspected members.

History

Suqour al-Sham

The group began as a subunit in

in 2012 under the leadership of Hassan Aboud and became notable for its use of

IEDs An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mechan ...

against government forces on highways and seizing weapons and vehicles including tanks from the

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 ...

. While being a subunit in Suqour al-Sham the group also participated in the Battle of Taftanaz, they conducted an ambush against the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and National Defense Forces near the border between 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 ...

and

. During the battle of Taftanaz the rebels captured or destroyed between 15 and 20 Syrian military helicopters in the city's air base. In February 2014, ISIL signed a cease-fire agreement with Suqour al-Sham after a series of clashes between ISIL and Syrian opposition groups in early 2014. The agreement stated both groups would end hostilities and not interfere in the other's affairs, the agreement was signed by representatives from ISIL and Suqour al-Sham, as well as a Liwa Dawud commander acting as a third party witness.

Jaysh al-Sham

In early 2014 Aboud announced that Liwa Dawud was to join Jaysh al-Sham while simultaneously following ISIL's instructions.

ISIL

In July 2014 he declared his loyalty to

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri (28 July 1971 – 27 October 2019), commonly known by his ''nom de guerre'' Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was an Iraqi militant leader who was the founder and first leader of the Islamic State (IS), who proclaimed hims ...

and Liwa Dawud officially defected and the remaining members of Liwa Dawud numbering 1,000 departed to the

ISIS Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

capital

Raqqa Raqqa (, also , Kurdish language, Kurdish: ''Reqa'') is a city in Syria on the North bank of the Euphrates River, about east of Aleppo. It is located east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. The Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine city and b ...

. Aboud along with remnants of the group fought in multiple battle for the

including the

battle of Kobane A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

against the Kurdish

People's Protection Units The People's Defense Units (YPG), also called People's Protection Units, is a libertarian socialist US-backed Kurds in Syria, Kurdish militant group in Syria and the primary component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The YPG mostl ...

and Free Syrian Army-linked Arab factions exiled to the city after coming into conflict with ISIL, the group also took part in the Palmyra Offensive, and members of the group also staffed courts run by ISIL. In June 2018,

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 ...

arrested remnants of the group at checkpoints established in a triangle spanning from Misbin to Nayrab to

Sarmin Sarmin ( also spelled Sarmeen) is a town in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Governorate, located 15 kilometers southeast of Idlib. It has an altitude of about 390 meters. Nearby localities include Binnish to the north, Tal ...

where the group was formerly based, due to high ISIL-linked activity and presence of ISIL affiliated cells in the area, along with remnants of Liwa Dawud, former members of Jaysh al-Sham which Liwa Dawud was part of were arrested as well as former Liwa al-Haqq members.

References

{{Reflist Anti-Assad factions of the Syrian civil war Factions of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant