{{Short description|Qatari-backed Syrian rebel group (2012–2014)}} {{infobox war faction | name = Ahfad al-Rasul Brigades | native_name = ألوية أحفاد الرسول | native_name_lang = ar | war = Syrian civil war | image = Ahfad al-Rasul logo.png | caption = Official logo of the Ahfad al-Rasul Brigades | active = July 2012–late 2013/early 2014<ref name=AHfadcoalpse /><ref name="CEIP" /> | ideology = Sunni Islamism<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fairobserver.com/article/alwiya-ahfaad-ar-rasool-growing-force-syrian-armed-opposition|title=Alwiya Ahfaad ar-Rasool: A Growing Force in the Syrian Armed Opposition | Fair Observer° |publisher=Fairobserver.com|date=25 September 2012|accessdate=19 May 2014}}</ref><br>Salafist jihadism (factions)<ref name=heresy>{{cite web|url=http://brown-moses.blogspot.com/2012/12/video-appears-to-show-syrian-army.html|title=Video Appears To Show A Syrian Army Soldier Executed By Ahfad al-Rasul Brigade For Heresy|author=Brown Moses|author-link=Brown Moses|date=31 December 2012}}</ref> | leaders = *Col. Ziad Haj Obaid ({{small|until September 2013}})<ref name="ISW">{{cite web|url=http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/The-Free-Syrian-Army-24MAR.pdf|title=The Free Syrian Army|last=O'Bagy|first=Elizabeth|publisher=Institute for the Study of War|date=24 March 2013|accessdate=19 May 2014|archive-date=20 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180520054313/http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/The-Free-Syrian-Army-24MAR.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> *Saddam al-Jamal ({{small|until November 2013}})<ref name=defect>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/12/syrian-fighter-defects-qaeda-linked-group-201312158517493207.html|title=Syrian fighter defects to Qaeda-linked group|work=Al Jazeera English|author=Basma Atassi|date=17 December 2013}}</ref> *Abu Mazin{{KIA}}<ref name=vice>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/da/article/ar-raqqah-syria-isis/|title=Watching Syrian Rebels Fight Among Themselves for the City of Raqqa|work=Vice|author=Alice Martins |date=23 September 2013}}</ref> | headquarters = | area = Syria *Idlib Governorate<ref name="ctc270813">{{cite web|url=http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/the-non-state-militant-landscape-in-syria|title=The Non-State Militant Landscape in Syria|last=Lund|first=Aron|publisher=CTC Sentinel|date=27 August 2013|accessdate=19 May 2014|archive-date=7 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007045801/http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/the-non-state-militant-landscape-in-syria|url-status=dead}}</ref> *Aleppo Governorate *Latakia Governorate *Raqqa Governorate<ref name=aje15sept>{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/09/201391417428835847.html|title=The end of the rebel alliance?|publisher=Al Jazeera English|date=15 September 2013|accessdate=19 May 2014}}</ref> *Hasakah Governorate *Rif Dimashq Governorate *Damascus Governorate *Daraa Governorate *Quneitra Governorate *Deir ez-Zor Governorate | size = 7,000–9,000<ref>{{cite news|title=Syria crisis: Guide to armed and political opposition|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24403003|publisher=BBC|date=13 December 2013}}</ref> | partof = {{flagdeco|Syrian Opposition}} Free Syrian Army<ref name="ISW"/><ref name=aje15sept/> * Tajamu' Ansar al-Islam (2012-2013)<ref name=Rasuli>{{cite web|url=https://joshualandis.com/blog/the-islamist-mess-in-damascus/?|title=The Islamist mess in Damascus|date=9 February 2013|access-date=7 June 2025|work=Aron Lund, Syria Comment}}</ref> {{Flagicon image|Al-Liwaa.svg}} Euphrates Islamic Liberation Front (2014)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://the-arab-chronicle.com/new-face-syrian-rebellion/#|title=The new face of the Syrian rebellion|publisher=The Arab Chronicle|date=5 March 2014|accessdate=21 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140425020814/http://the-arab-chronicle.com/new-face-syrian-rebellion/|archive-date=2014-04-25|url-status=dead}}</ref> | predecessor = | successor = Syrian Revolutionaries Front (Idlib branch)<br>Jaysh al-Ahfad (Northern Aleppo branch)<br>77th Division (Deir ez-Zor branch) | allies = {{flag|Qatar}}<br>{{flag|France}} <small>(Allegedly)</small><br>{{Flagicon image|Al-Liwaa.svg}} Kurdish Islamic Front (formerly)<ref name=aq/><br>{{flagicon image|Flag of Ahrar ash-Sham.svg}} Ahrar ash-Sham<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/syrian-kurds-struggle-for-autonomy-threatens-rebel-effort-to-oust-%20%20assad/2013/07/26/a34ecac4-f491-11e2-81fa-8e83b3864c36_story_1.html|title=Syrian Kurds' struggle for autonomy threatens rebel effort to oust Assad|work=New York Times|date=26 July 2013|accessdate=19 May 2014}}</ref><br>{{flagicon image|Flag of the Al-Nusra Front.svg}} Al-Nusra Front<ref name=aq>{{Cite web|url=https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2013/07/qatar-funded_syrian_rebel_brig.php|title=Qatar-funded Syrian rebel brigade backs al Qaeda groups in Syria|work=Long War Journal|author=Bill Roggio|date=26 July 2013}}</ref> (until August 2013)<ref name=defect/><br>{{flagicon image|Flag of Ansar al-Islam.svg}} Ansar al-Islam<ref name=bomb>{{Cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-explosion/bomb-explosion-hits-security-area-of-damascus-activists-idUSBRE89A1CB20121011|title=Bomb explosion hits security area of Damascus: activists|work=Reuters|date=12 October 2012}}</ref><br>{{flagicon image|People's Protection Units Flag.svg|border=no}} People's Protection Units (occasionally)<ref name=kurds>{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/the-fractious-politics-of-syrias-kurds|title=The Fractious Politics of Syria's Kurds|work=The Washington Institute for Near East Policy|author=Barak Barfi|date=18 December 2013}}</ref> | opponents = {{flag|Ba'athist Syria}}<br>{{flag|Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant}} (since August 2013)<br>{{flagicon image|Flag of the Al-Nusra Front.svg}} Al-Nusra Front (since August 2013)<ref name=defect/><br>{{flagicon image|Flag of Ahrar ash-Sham.svg}} Ahrar al-Sham <small>(2013)</small><br>{{flagicon image|People's Protection Units Flag.svg|border=no}} People's Protection Units (2012–14)<ref name=aq/> | battles = Syrian civil war *Raqqa campaign (2012–13) *Battle of Ras al-Ayn (2012–13) *Rojava–Islamist conflict *2013 Latakia offensive *Inter-rebel conflict during the Syrian Civil War | groups = }}
The '''Ahfad al-Rasul Brigades''' ({{langx|ar|ألوية أحفاد الرسول}} ''Al-wiat Aḥfād ar-Rasūl'', "Grandsons of the Prophet Brigades") was a Syrian rebel group fighting against the Syrian government in the Syrian Civil War. It was funded by the Qatari government.<ref name="CAP">{{cite web|url=http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/security/report/2013/05/14/63221/the-structure-and-organization-of-the-syrian-opposition/|title=The Structure and Organization of the Syrian Opposition|publisher=Center for American Progress|date=14 May 2013|accessdate=19 May 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Basma Atassi|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/12/syrian-fighter-defects-qaeda-linked-group-201312158517493207.html|title=Syrian fighter defects to Qaeda-linked group - Features|publisher=Al Jazeera English|accessdate=19 May 2014|date=16 December 2013}}</ref>
==Structure and member groups==
Its notable subgroups included the Justice Battalion, the Golan Martyrs Battalion, the Golan Hawks Battalion, the Falcons of Mount Zawiya Brigade,<ref name="ISW"/> and the Qalamoun Liberation Front.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/security/2013/09/syria-christians-maaloula-jihadists-opposition-army.html|title=Syrian Christian Village Besieged by Jihadists|work=Al-Monitor|author=Sohaib Enjrainy|date=5 September 2013|access-date=2017-05-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130910235822/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/security/2013/09/syria-christians-maaloula-jihadists-opposition-army.html|archive-date=2013-09-10|url-status=dead}}</ref> By August 2013, the group had coopted some 50 groups from across Syria; however, it was strongest in Idlib Governorate.<ref name="ctc270813"/> Its leader, Colonel Ziad Haj Obaid, was on the Arms Committee of the Supreme Military Council.<ref name="ISW"/> The Allahu Akbar Brigade, based in al-Bukamal in the Deir ez-Zor Governorate, was also part of Ahfad al-Rasul. In July 2013, Al Jazeera reported that the Allahu Akbar Brigade consisted of around 800 fighters.<ref name=defect/>
==History== On 11 October 2012, the Ahfad al-Rasul Brigades, in coordination with Ansar al-Islam, conducted a bombing of Syrian military compounds west of the Umayyad Square in Damascus.<ref name=bomb/>
In December 2012, the Ahfad al-Rasul Brigades executed a Syrian Army officer on allegations of heresy. By this time, the group was described as a Salafist jihadist group independent from the Free Syrian Army.<ref name=heresy/>
In July 2013, the Ahfad al-Rasul Brigades, along with Ahrar al-Sham and the Kurdish Islamic Front, announced that they would fight alongside al-Qaeda's al-Nusra Front against the People's Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria.<ref name=aq/>
In August 2013, clashes erupted between the Ahfad al-Rasul Brigades and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in the city of Raqqa. On 13 August, ISIL suicide bombers detonated 4 car bombs at the Ahfad al-Rasul Brigades' headquarters at the Raqqa train station, killing 6 Ahfad al-Rasul fighters, including two commanders, Abu Mazin<ref name=vice/> and Fahd al-Kajwan, and 6 civilians.<ref name=death>{{Cite web|url=http://www.3ksalser.com/?page=view_articles&id=01e647c702b3e0e34916cab98ce7ac50|title=The death of the commander of the descendants of the Prophet and the civilians in the bombing that targeted the train station in Al-Raqqa|work=Aksalser|date=14 August 2013|access-date=24 May 2018|archive-date=21 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231021235753/https://www.3ksalser.com/?page=view_articles&id=01e647c702b3e0e34916cab98ce7ac50|url-status=dead}}</ref> By the next day, ISIL fighters fully captured the headquarter.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/articles/2013/08/16/in-raqqa-islamist-rebels-form-a-new-regime|title=In Raqqa, Islamist Rebels Form a New Regime|work=Syria Deeply|author=Alison Tahmizian Meuse|date=16 August 2013}}</ref> Clashes also erupted in Tabqa.<ref name=death/> By 17 August, ISIL had defeated Ahfad al-Rasul in Raqqa and expelled it from the city.<ref name=vice/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aksalser.com/?page=view_articles&id=34f248008e9def7744ca1759b91d5c4a&ar=843842874|title="The Grandfather of the Apostle" announces the end of its operations against the "State of Islam in Iraq and the Levant"|work=Aksalser|date=17 August 2013|access-date=3 May 2018|archive-date=27 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230627051703/https://www.aksalser.com/?page=view_articles&id=34f248008e9def7744ca1759b91d5c4a&ar=843842874|url-status=dead}}</ref> During the conflict between ISIL and the Ahfad al-Rasul Brigades in Raqqa, the group organized protests against both ISIL and Ahrar al-Sham, and viewed Ahrar al-Sham as allowing ISIL to defeat the group due to their lack of intervention in the conflict, while Ahrar al-Sham also shared the view of ISIL, of the Ahfad al-Rasul Brigades as being a common enemy. However, the Ahfad al-Rasul Brigades announced an end to its conflict with ISIL on 17 August, and resumed cooperation with it.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aymennjawad.org/14151/the-islamic-state-of-iraq-and-al-sham|title = The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham}}</ref>
The fighting soon spread to the Deir ez-Zor Governorate, and tensions also rose between Ahfad al-Rasul and the al-Nusra Front. In November 2013, Saddam al-Jamal, commander of Ahfad al-Rasul's Allahu Akbar Brigade, defected to ISIL.<ref name=defect/> Following al-Jamal's defection, 4 subunits of Ahfad al-Rasul also defected to ISIL.<ref name=AHfadcoalpse>{{cite web|url=https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2013/12/4_battalions_from_qa.php|title=4 battalions from Qatar-backed Islamist brigade defect to wage 'armed jihadist struggle'|work=Long War Journal|author=Bill Roggio|date=5 December 2013}}</ref>
By early 2014, the Ahfad al-Rasul Brigades was described as defunct, with many subunits rebranding themselves as members of the Syrian Revolutionaries Front.<ref name="CEIP">{{cite web|author=Aron Lund|url=http://carnegieendowment.org/syriaincrisis/?fa=54522|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140224221605/http://carnegieendowment.org/syriaincrisis/?fa=54522|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 24, 2014|title=Syria's Southern Spring Offensive|publisher=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace|date=14 February 2014|accessdate=19 May 2014}}</ref> The Latakia Governorate-based Brigade of the Chargers, formerly part of Ahfad al-Rasul, received BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missiles in early 2014, and became the 1st Coastal Division in late 2014.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://syriainbrief.wordpress.com/2018/01/02/the-cias-tow-program-a-list-of-rebel-groups-involved/|title=The CIA's TOW program: A list of rebel groups involved|work=Syria in Brief|date=2 January 2018}}</ref> Reports appeared in early 2017 that possible remnants of the Ahfad al-Rasul Brigades have reappeared as the Army of Grandsons in the northern Aleppo Governorate to fight ISIL as part of Operation Euphrates Shield.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://twitter.com/badly_xeroxed/status/834120150077026306|title=Коуди Роша on Twitter|newspaper=Twitter|access-date=2017-02-23|language=en}}</ref>
==See also== * List of armed groups in the Syrian Civil War
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Twitter}} {{in lang|ar}}
{{2011 Syrian uprising}}
Category:Anti-Assad factions of the Syrian civil war