Brief Profile of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) that Overthrew Syrian Government

Earlier this week, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad arrived in Moscow after having lost control of a large part of the country and being forced to leave Damascus.

The terrorist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), leading a coalition of anti-government armed factions, launched an offensive that resulted in the rapid capture of the capital and other important cities.

This brought a surprisingly sudden end to the al-Assad government, which had resisted a decade-long US-backed regime-change operation mounted by Turkish, Kurdish, and Takfiri terrorists and, in the years since this conflict was frozen in 2019, crippling economic sanctions. In addition, parts of Syria have been occupied by the Zionist regime (the Golan Heights, illegally occupied ever since 1967), Türkiye (since 2016), and the US military (since 2014).

As of December 6, at least 370,000 people have been displaced by the invasion of this armed group, according to UN data.

Roots and origin
HTS is a Takfiri contra group based in Idlib, in the far northwest of Syria, which has its roots in the al-Nusra Front, the Syrian branch of the infamous terrorist organization Al-Qaeda.

HTS’s current leader, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani—who has now decided to present himself under his presumed real name, Ahmed Hussein al-Chareh—is listed as a wanted criminal by the United States Department of Justice and has connections with the Islamic State (ISIS).

His Salafi terrorist career began during the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, where he participated in various operations. In that context, he became close to Abu Musab al Zarqawi, the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, known for his brutality and extreme tactics.

Al-Jolani was imprisoned in the United States’ Bucca mega-prison in Iraq—nicknamed “the university of terrorists”—where many future ISIS and Al-Qaeda leaders were imprisoned and radicalized.

In 2012, al-Jolani founded the al-Nusra Front, initially collaborating with ISIS under the tutelage of its leader Abu Bakr al-Bagdhadi until 2013, when al-Jolani swore allegiance to al-Zarqawi and Al-Qaeda. In 2016, al-Jolani announced a break with Al-Qaeda and renamed his organization Jabhat Fatah al Sham. Finally, in 2017, after merging with other armed groups, the organization was rebranded again as Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS or “Organization for the Liberation of the Levant”).

According to the media outlet Al Manar, HTS and al-Jolani returned to the regional scene after a period of five years. During this time, they consolidated their presence in Idlib, Syira, interacting with other armed groups and developing a political strategy based on the neutralization of opposing groups and negotiation with allies as a way to unify fronts.

Al-Jolani even established a de facto government, the “Salvation Government,” in Idlib, with the aim of attracting the support of foreign governments.

Last year, HTS, rejecting reconciliation and reiterating its goal of overthrowing Bashar al-Assad, opposed Türkiye’s political path of rapprochement, referring to negotiations between Türkiye, Russia, and the Syrian government as a “dangerous deviation” that undermined the goals of the so-called “Syrian revolution.”

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Connections with Kiev
Intelligence reports cited by media outlets and analysts indicate growing collaboration between HTS and the Ukrainian regime.

Syrian opposition sources told Sputnik in September that the terrorist group received drones from Ukraine in exchange for recruiting experienced fighters, a transaction corroborated by regular contacts between Ukrainian spy chief Kirill Budanov and the leader of HTS, according to Syrian daily Al Watan.

Previous reports cited by the Russian outlet point to US involvement in the transfer of Takfiri contras to Ukraine. The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) reported the release, and subsequent training, of ISIS members at the Al-Tanf US military base in Syria before they were transported to Ukraine.

It is estimated that around 800 terrorist mercenaries, facilitated by HTS, left Syria for Ukraine in November 2022, using the Syrian–Turkish border for their transfer.

Western complicity
Since its formation, HTS has faced sanctions and has been designated as a terrorist organization by the UN, Russia, and even by its backers in the US, Türkiye, and the European Union. However, following the events of recent days in Syria, both the Biden administration and the United Kingdom are considering the possibility of removing it from the terrorist list “to allow deeper contact and cooperation with the group,” The Cradle reports.

HTS has carried out at least 13 massacres in Syria, according to the UN. Among the most notable are a January 2012 attack in the Maydan neighborhood of Damascus, which left 24 dead and 140 wounded, and a May 2012 bombing in Qazaz, which killed 55 people and wounded 372, mostly civilians. In March 2017, a double bombing in Damascus resulted in the deaths of at least 40 Iraqi Shiite pilgrims.

This assessment is supported by attempts by the group and its leader to whitewash their image, supported by Western media outlets seeking to portray them as legitimate political actors.

(Misión Verdad) with Orinoco Tribune content

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/KW/SL