Jaysh al-Jihad

Not to be confused with Army of the Holy War.

Jaysh al-Jihad
Participant in the Syrian Civil War
Active	February 2015 – present
Ideology	Salafi Jihadism
Leaders	Abu Mussab Al-Fanussy
Headquarters	Al-Qahtaniyah, Quneitra
Area of operations	Quneitra Governorate and Daraa Governorate, Syria
Strength	~400
Part of	Islamic State (allegedly)
Became	Khalid ibn al-Walid Army
Opponents	Syrian Armed Forces National Defense Force Ahrar ash-Sham 25px Southern Front al-Nusra Front Jaysh al-Islam
Battles and wars	Syrian Civil War Inter-rebel conflict during the Syrian Civil War

Jaysh al-Jihad (Jihad Army) is an Islamic State group based in Quneitra Governorate. The group formed from the merger of 7 small independent groups and factions that defected from Nusra Front after it clashed with the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade in December 2014. These groups were: Jihad Brigades, Jamaat Jund al-Islam, Jamaat Abu Baseer, Mujahideen of al-Sham movement, Jamaat Shabab Ahl al-Sunnah, Nurayn Brigade, and Jamaat Bunyan al-Marsous.

The group had been accused by other Syrian rebel groups of being affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). In April 2015, violent clashes broke out between the group and the Free Syrian Army and al-Nusra Front, after Jaish al-Jihad militants ambushed and killed six FSA fighters at a checkpoint in Quneitra. By 6 May 2015, Nusra and other rebel groups announced that they had cleared al-Qahtaniyah and Quneitra city of Jaysh al-Jihad forces.

In May 2016, remnants of Jaysh al-Jihad joined with two other Pro-ISIL factions in Southern Syria, the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade and Islamic Muthanna Movement, to form the Khalid ibn al-Walid Army.

See also

• List of armed groups in the Syrian Civil War