More than 70 Saudi clerics in a statement issued recently pledged their allegiance to the Islamic Front calling all Islamic factions in Syria to join newly formed alliance as
its chart is distinct and stands on Shariah.
IF was formally announced on November 22, the IF includes groups from
three prior umbrella organizations: the Syrian Islamic Front (SIF), the Syrian
Islamic Liberation Front (SILF), and the Kurdish Islamic Front (KIF). From the
SIF, Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya (HASI), Kataib Ansar al-Sham, and Liwa
al-Haqq joined, as did the KIF as a whole and former SILF brigades Suqur
al-Sham, Liwa al-Tawhid, and Jaish al-Islam. None of these groups has been
designated by the U.S. government as a foreign terrorist organization.
Although these groups previously kept their individual names under the
SIF and SILF, they will no longer do so under the IF, though it may take time
to phase out the original names. This was confirmed the same day as the IF
announcement, when SIF leader Hassan Aboud put out a directive dissolving his
organization, according to Washington Institute.
The recent merger of several Syrian rebel groups into the Islamic Front (IF)
is one of the war's most important developments. Although the political and
military opposition has long been fragmented, the new umbrella organization
brings seven groups and their combined force of 45,000-60,000 fighters under
one command. It also links the fight in the north and the south. Most notably,
though, it affirms the troubles Washington will have setting policy in Syria
going forward, Aaron Y. Zelin, WI fellow researcher said.
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