JIHADIST GROUP #4: Jaysh Muhajireen wal-Ansar

Caucasian immigrants in Syria

Name: Jaysh Muhajireen wal-Ansar - “Army of emigrants and supporters”.

Founded: 2012/2013

Headquarters: Idlib, Northwest Syria

Military Operations Area: Latakia, Aleppo and Idlib.

Group composition: Caucasians (Chechens, Dagestani, Ingush), Tatars, Tajiks, Azeris, Uzbeks, Kazakhs and Ukrainians

Ideology: Jihadism, Jihadist Salafism

Typology: Armed group/insurgent

Leader: Abdullah al-Daghestani

Alliances: Allied with Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), integrated into HTS as Liwa “Liwa Said ibn Zayd”, but with independent propaganda in the Russian Language.

Overview:

The “Army of Emigrants and Supporters” was founded in 2012 under the name “Muhajireen Battalion” and was led by Abu Omar al-Shishani. In March 2013, the Muhajireen Battalion merged with two Syrian jihadist groups, Jaish Muhammad and Kata'ib Khattab, to form the Jaish Muhajireen wal-Ansar group.