Ansar al-Islam Syria

Following the advent of the civil war in Syria in 2011, Ansar al-Islam (AI) established a branch in Syria, which initially operated under the alias of Ansar al-Sham. This branch worked closely with AI’s allies in the region, namely Jabhat al-Nusra and Al Qaeda. By 2014, AI had publicly acknowledged Ansar al-Sham as a branch of its organization and the group became known simply as Ansar al-Islam Syria (AI Syria). Then on August 29, 2014, AI officially merged with the Islamic State (IS). However, AI Syria rejected the merger and has continued to operate under the name of Ansar al-Islam. The group is currently believed to be cooperating with Jabhat al-Nusra and Al Qaeda against the Assad Regime and IS. Most recently, in February 2016, the group was reported to be fighting against forces of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Jaysh al-Thuwar, a coalition of several former Free Syrian Army units, in the Ashrafiyeh neighborhood of Aleppo.