Does Kurdish jihadist group threaten Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in north Syria?
Ansar al-Islam is a Kurdish Salafist and jihadist group operating in the Kurdistan mountains in northern Iraq all the way to Latakia in Syria, fighting against the Syrian government.
IDLIB, Syria — Ansar al-Islam is considered a Salafist-jihadist movement seeking to establish an “Islamic state” according to its own vision and Islamic governance in a bid to obtain and preserve the “legitimate rights” of the Kurdish people.
The group was established in September 2001, basing itself in northeastern Iraq, notably in the areas of Iraqi Kurdistan.
In 2014, Ansar al-Islam established itself in Syria, notably in Damascus and its countryside, and Quneitra, through a merger with the Usama ibn Zayd Brigade, Al-Ezz bin Abdul Salam Brigade and Al-Adiyat Brigade.
In February 2015, it announced the establishment of its northern branch in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib, and has been mainly active in the northern countryside of Latakia.
