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A Look at Al-Qaeda in Syria

By William Tucker

Back in March 2011, I had written an article on the reported presence of al-Qaeda militants fighting against the Qaddafi regime after U.S. intelligence indicated that “flickers” of al-Qaeda were seen among the rebellion. Keeping true to form with the rest of the Arab Spring uprisings, the same concern is being expressed in regards to the situation in Syria. Unlike Libya, however, the presence of al-Qaeda, or al-Qaeda linked militants, is more pronounced and easier to identify. That being said, it is important to interject a caveat at this point. There may be an al-Qaeda presence in Syria, but that doesn’t mean that the opposition forces are cooperating with these militants or even share a similar ideology. The rebellion in Syria is quite diverse and has crossed ethnic and religious boundaries. Many of the rebels taking up arms are doing so outside the auspices of more recognizable entities such as the Free Syrian Army. Frankly, it is even unlikely that al-Qaeda, or other al-Qaeda affiliates for that matter, are operating under a single command structure.

The recent interest in al-Qaeda’s presence in Syria caught the interest of the international media again when the Army of Islam reported that one of its members was recently killed in Syria. The Army of Islam is an al-Qaeda affiliated jihadist movement that primarily operates out of Gaza; although they have carried out terrorist attacks in Egypt. Army of Islam has been covered here at In Homeland Security in the past, most recently when it was designated as a terrorist entity by the U.S. State Department. Other al-Qaeda linked movements in Syria include al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, The Al Baraa Ibn Malik Martyrdom Brigade, and the Al Nusrah Front.* Another group, Liwa al-Islam, claimed credit for the recent bombing in Damascus that killed four high level members of Syrian president Bashir al-Assad’s cabinet. The FSA also claimed credit for the attack which shows just how murky the militant/opposition picture is in Syria.

There is an interesting point of intersection between al-Qaeda and the opposition, however. Syrian opposition forces have claimed that they control all the border crossings between Syria and Iraq. Before the U.S. tamed the insurgency in Iraq’s al-Anbar province, weapons for AQI were moving into Iraq, from Syria, through these very border crossings. Recent media reports suggest that these routes have simply been reversed thus allowing for foreign intelligence services to supply the Syrian opposition with light weaponry. If these reports are accurate, then AQI, or at least smugglers with an AQI connection, are likely involved in moving these weapons into Syria. That being said, a connection in moving arms does not necessarily translate into a long term relationship between al-Qaeda and the Syrian opposition. Although a tenuous connection between the multitude of militant entities in Syria may exist, it is unlikely to survive the coalescing of opposition forces into a post-Assad transitional government.

*Two other militant movements, the Omar al-Farouq Brigade and the Al Baraa Ibn Malik Martyrdom Brigade, have made claims of support for the Syrian uprising, and even claimed to have created specific units for joining the fight, but there isn’t any publically available evidence to suggest a current presence in Syria.

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