formation of, 206–9
governance under, 209–10, 246, 263–64, 274–75, 276–77, 309–10
Hazm Movement intelligence gathering, 271–72
and Latakia offensive (Aug. 2013), 226, 232–33
and Raqqa oil fields, 243
US strikes against, 313, 316
and women’s roles, 209, 274–75, 309–10
see also rebel-ISIS conflict
Islam:
Assad regime version of, 24
and detainees, 185
and early insurgency, 65
Sufism, 24, 34, 36
Sunni-Shiite divide, 19, 108
see also Alawites; Islamist rebel groups; Islamists; Salafism; specific groups
Islamic State (IS), 280–81
see also ISIS
Islamic state as goal:
and Firas al-Absi, 122–23, 145–46
and inter-rebel conflicts, 145–46, 193–96, 202
and Jabhat al-Nusra, 193–96, 200, 246
and women’s roles, 182, 200
Islamic State of Iraq:
and Firas al-Absi, 144–45
and Jabhat al-Nusra, 79–80, 124–25, 203–5
Islamist radicalization, 24–26, 29, 98, 124
see also detainee radicalization
Islamist rebel groups:
and Antalya Conference, 173
ejection from Saraqeb (2017), 332
and Firas al-Absi, 122–23, 144–46, 199
and Islamist amnesty (May 2011), 78–79
and Raqqa City, 191–93, 196–97
and Salafism, 105–6
Sednaya graduates in, 30, 78–79, 80, 124, 125, 126, 129, 349
and Shahada flag, 144–45, 146, 193–96
see also Al-Qaeda; detainee radicalization; ISIS; Islamic state as goal; Islamist radicalization; Jabhat al-Nusra
Islamists:
amnesty (May 2011), 78–79, 124
and Arab uprisings, 16–17
Assad regime detainment of, 14–17, 23, 30, 32, 34
Assad regime suppression of, 18–19, 20–24, 25, 30, 49, 50, 57, 78
Jihadi passage to Iraq, 26–30
see also Al-Qaeda; ISIS; Islamic State of Iraq; Islamist rebel groups; Jabhat al-Nusra; muhajireen; Muslim Brotherhood
Israel, 248
Istanbul Room, 107, 108, 110, 146–50, 168, 169–70
Jabhat al-Nusra:
Al-Qaeda lineage of, 80–81, 125–26, 129, 130–31, 318, 334, 335
discipline within, 130
and early insurgency, 98, 129–30
Farouq Battalions conflict with, 196–97, 199, 200–202
and Firas al-Absi, 144–46
founding of, 79–81
and Free Syrian Army, 129, 226–27
funding for, 203–4, 243–44
governance under, 129–30, 155, 191–92, 196, 243, 327, 330–31
Hazm Movement conflict with, 313–14, 315, 316, 317–19
importance of, 129–30
internal conflicts, 128–29, 196
and ISIS formation, 206–9
and Islamic state as goal, 193–96, 200, 246
and Islamic State of Iraq, 79–80, 124–25, 203–5
and Khorasan Group, 205–6, 313
kidnappings (2016), 334–35
and Latakia Alawite detainees, 222, 227–33, 253, 290–92, 337–43
and Latakia offensive (Aug. 2013), 222, 253
memories of, 348–49
and muhajireen, 120–23, 126–28, 204, 205, 333–34, 335
new recruits (2014), 277–78, 280
popular support for, 131
and Raqqa City, 191–93, 196–97
Ras al-Hosn camp, 273, 274–75, 278–79
and rebel-ISIS conflict, 245–47, 248–49, 251, 278–79
relief programs, 249–51
and Shaddadi refineries, 213–14
terrorist label for, 130–31
and US military intervention, 313
and US training program, 319
see also Jabhat Fatih al-Sham
Jabhat Fatih al-Sham, 335
Jawa (Alawite child), 223–26, 229, 290–92, 341–42
Jihadi passage to Iraq, 26–30
jihadis, see Al-Qaeda muhajireen
jihaz il amnee (security apparatus), xx
Jisr al-Shughour:
and Assad regime suppression of Islamists, 18, 20, 21, 24, 25
conflict (June 2011), 56–61
Joint Command (FSA), 168–70, 172
see also Free Syrian Army
Jolani, Abu Mohammad al-:
and Al-Qaeda-ISIS break, 280
and Al-Qaeda relationship with Jabhat al-Nusra, 125–26
and checkpoints, 196
and ISIS formation, 207, 208
and Islamic State of Iraq, 79–80, 203, 204
and Jabhat al-Nusra formation, 79–81
and Jabhat al-Nusra internal conflicts, 128, 129
and Jabhat al-Nusra struggles (2016), 334
and Khorasan Group, 205–6
and muhajireen, 126–27
and rebel-ISIS conflict, 245
Jordan, 50, 259
Juneid, Osama, see Abu Sayyeh
Justin.TV, 51, 72
Kaftaru, Sheikh Ahmad, 15
Khalid bin Walid Battalion, 68–69, 74, 90, 91, 92
Khalil, Abdullah, 192–93, 209
Khatab, Farouq Omar bin al-, 75
Khatib, Hajar al-, 53
Khatib, Mariam, 215
Khattab, 26
Khorasan Group, 205, 313
Kism, Fady, 69–71, 72
Lama, 136
Latakia:
importance of, 222
offensive (Aug. 2013), 222, 232–33
Latakia Alawite detainees, 222–33, 253, 290–92, 337–43
Lebanon, 50–51, 101, 104–5
Libyan embassy vigil (Feb. 23, 2011), xvii–xviii, xix–xxi
Maamoun (Rastan tansiqiya member), 51–52, 89, 92
Mahmoud, Abdel-Salam Fajr, 237–39
majmoo’at, 63–64
Maliki, Nouri al-, 27
Mamlouk, Ali, 28
Manal (Ruha’s mother):
and civil uprising, 38, 84, 85
and civil war escalation, 137, 152
and escape to Turkey, 157–60
refugee life, 177, 178, 179, 180, 220–21
Mariam (Ruha’s aunt):
background of, 42
and Battle of Saraqeb (Mar. 2012), 133
and civil uprising, 83–85
and civil war (2016), 326–31
and civil war escalation, 136, 142–43, 153, 180–81, 218, 219
and Kaban Checkpoint attack, 141
Masry, Basil al-, 56
Mattar, Osama, 165, 184
Maysaara (Ruha’s father):
and civil uprising, 82–83, 84, 86
and civil war escalation (2012–2013), 132, 134, 136
and criminal exploitation of early insurgency, 154
and escape to Turkey, 157–60
and governance, 155
medical supply smuggling, 152, 178–79
memories of, 326
refugee life, 178–80, 220–21, 306–7
return to Saraqeb, 307–8, 323, 324–26
shooting of, 87–88
and suppression of civil uprising, 39–41, 42–43
medical care, 156–57
Merhi Merhi, 89–90, 91–92, 93–94
military defectors:
and civil uprising, 54
and Damascus bombing (2012), 137
detainment of, 184
and early insurgency, 65, 67–71, 107
and Farouq Battalions, 100
Free Officers’ Movement, 60, 68–69
and Free Syrian Army, 105, 168, 227
misinformation about, 59–61
underground network for, 86
and weapons acquisition, 107
Minbar Suria al-Islami, 27–28
MIT (Turkish National Intelligence Agency), 107–8, 1
49
Mohammad (member of Jabhat al-Nusra):
Assad regime detainment of, 14–17
and Assad regime suppression of Islamists, 21–24, 25
background of, 18
and beginning of civil uprising, 30–31
and Firas al-Absi, 144
on Free Syrian Army, 226–27
and governance, 226, 243
and international nature of Al-Qaeda, 247–48
and ISIS formation, 207
and Israeli Jabhat al-Nusra cells, 248
and Jabhat al-Nusra-Hazm conflict, 315, 316, 318
and Jabhat al-Nusra struggles (2016), 335
and Jihadi passage to Iraq, 27, 28, 29
and Jisr al-Shughour conflict (June 2011), 56, 57, 59
and Latakia Alawite detainees, 222, 253
and muhajireen smuggling, 120–23, 127, 333–34, 335
radicalization of, 24–25, 26
and rebel-ISIS conflict, 244–47, 248–49, 251
and weapons acquisition, 55
Mohammad (Ruha’s brother), 42, 84, 305
Mohammad (Ruha’s uncle):
and civil uprising, 41, 84
and civil war escalation, 154, 215, 217, 218
death of, 306
detainment of, 85–86
and governance, 155–56
MOM (Müşterek Operasyon Merkezi), 259–61
muhajireen:
Hazm Movement intelligence gathering, 270–73
and ISIS governance, 310
and Jabhat al-Nusra, 120–23, 126–28, 204, 205, 333–34, 335
and Latakia offensive (2013), 222
marriages with, 181–82, 203
and rebel-ISIS conflict, 245–46, 333–34
smuggling operations, 120–23, 127–28, 333–34, 335
see also Al-Qaeda; Jabhat al-Nusra
mujahideen, 191
see also Al-Qaeda; Islamic state as goal; Islamist rebel groups; Jihadi passage to Iraq
mukhabarat:
and Assad regime suppression of Islamists, 21–23
and beginning of civil uprising, xvii, xx, 10, 31
infiltration of Islamist groups, 16, 24
and Jihadi passage to Iraq, 28
and political repression, 5, 7, 32
see also Assad regime, detainees of; torture
Muslim Brotherhood:
amnesty (May 2011), 78
Assad regime suppression of, 18–19, 20–24, 25, 30, 57
and civil war escalation, 148, 173
exiles, 49, 50
Naseem al-a’lami, 80
niqab, 25, 29, 82, 252, 309, 327, 339
Noora (Ruha’s aunt), 84, 215, 217, 218, 219
Nusra, see Jabhat al-Nusra
Obama, Barack, 215, 216
Ochlik, Rémi, 103
Operation Phantom Fury (2004), 29
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), 215–16
Orient TV, 5–6
Osama (Ruha’s uncle), 40, 42
Palestine Branch:
Daraa children, xxi, 70, 76–78
detainee radicalization in, 16, 30, 126
and Islamist amnesty (May 2011), 78
Islamist detainment in, 14, 16–17
Suleiman Tlass Farzat’s detainment in, 285–87
pan-Arabism, xvii, xix, xxi, 18
peace missions:
Annan peace plan (2012), 132–33
Arab League (Dec. 2011–Jan. 2012), 98, 102
Petraeus, David, 27
Qardaha, 4, 6
Qatar:
and Antalya Conference, 172
and civil war (2014–15), 259
and civil war escalation, 146, 148
and early insurgency, 107, 110
and Free Syrian Army, 168
and Joint Command, 172–73
Rajha, Daoud, 137
Raqqa City:
and civil war escalation, 191–93, 196–97, 200
ISIS governance of, 209–10, 263–64
Ras al-Hosn camp, 273, 274–75, 278–79
Rastan:
Assad statue felling, 11–13, 44
beginning of civil uprising in, 7–13
early insurgency in, 67–73
liberation of, 47, 48–49
military defectors, 67–69
Mustafa Tlass’s influence on, 4
protest and massacre (Apr. 29), 44–48
tansiqiya, 52, 72, 89–94
rebel-ISIS conflict:
Abu Azzam on, 311–12
and Abu Othman’s escape from ISIS, 275–77
and Al-Qaeda disavowal of ISIS, 246, 249, 251–52, 277
and Al-Qaeda-ISIS break, 279–80
and detainments by ISIS, 254–56, 262–69
and Free Syrian Army, 254–56, 264
and Hazm Movement, 261, 270–73, 315
and ISIS and Al-Qaeda compared, 246–47
and Jabhat al-Nusra, 245–47, 248–49, 251, 278–79
Mohammad on, 244, 248–49
and muhajireen, 245–46, 333–34
Ras al-Hosn camp assassinations, 278–79
rebel offensive, 245–46
Saleh on, 348–49
refugees:
children’s lives as, 177–80, 220–21, 305–6
and civil war escalation, 156–60
dissatisfaction, 296–97
Europe, 297–302, 306–7, 308, 348–50, 351–53
and inter-rebel conflicts, 202
and Jisr al-Shughour conflict (June 2011), 59
journey to Italy, 297–300
return to Saraqeb, 307–8, 323, 324–26, 331–32
Ruha (child in Saraqeb):
escape to Turkey, 156–60
father’s return, 132, 134
and father’s shooting, 87–88
impact of civil uprising on, 82–84, 85
impact of civil war escalation on, 134–37, 142–43, 151–53
and Kaban Checkpoint attack, 139, 141
refugee life of, 177–80, 220–21, 305–6, 323–24
return to Saraqeb, 331–32
and suppression of civil uprising, 38–41, 42–43
Russian Hell, The, 26
Sahel, 222
Sakr, Okab:
and civil uprising documentation, 50–51, 101
and Farouq Battalions, 101
and Istanbul meeting (May 2013), 213
and Istanbul Room, 107–8, 110, 146, 147, 148
Salafism:
and Abu Azzam’s identity, 34
and early insurgency funding, 105–6
and Jihadi passage to Iraq, 26–27, 29–30
and radicalization, 24–25, 124
Salameh, Adib, 163
Saleh (member of Jabhat al-Nusra):
and Al-Qaeda-ISIS break, 280
background of, 124–25
exile of, 308, 348–50
and inter-rebel conflicts, 196, 197
and ISIS formation, 207–8
and Jabhat al-Nusra internal conflicts, 128–29
and Jabhat al-Nusra wealth, 203–4
memories of, 348–49
and muhajireen, 126, 127, 128
and Raqqa City, 191, 196
Saraqeb:
agriculture in, 38–39
Battle of (Mar. 2012), 132–33
chemical weapons attacks, 215–16
during civil war (2014–15), 306, 307–8
during civil war (2016), 324–32
during civil war escalation, 134–37, 142–43, 151–53, 216–20
and Damascus bombing (2012), 138
governance in, 154, 155
Kaban Checkpoint attack (July 19, 2012), 138–41
rejection of Islamists (2017), 332
and Syrian military supply routes, 83
see also Ruha
Sarin, see chemical weapons
Saud, Salman bin Abdulaziz al-, Prince of Saudi Arabia, 213
Saudi Arabia:
and Antalya Conference, 172
and civil uprising docu
mentation, 50
and Farouq Battalions, 101
and Istanbul meeting (May 2013), 213
and Istanbul Room, 107, 110, 146, 148
and Salafism, 105–6
and Timber Sycamore, 259
Sednaya Military Prison:
detainee radicalization, 30, 78–79, 80, 124, 125, 126, 129, 349
and Islamist amnesty (May 2011), 78
riot (2008), 197
September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, 25, 26
Shaam News Network (SNN), 49, 50, 51, 101
Shaddadi, 213–14
Shawkat, Assef, 27, 137
Sheikh, Mustafa al-, 105
Shemali, Hamza, see Abu Hashem
Shishani, Abu Omar al-, 271
Skype, 51, 74
SNN (Shaam News Network), 49, 50, 51, 101
Sufism, 24, 34, 36
Suleiman, Afif, 147, 148
Suleiman Tlass Farzat:
and arming of civil uprising, 54
background of, 3–5
and beginning of civil uprising, 7–8
and child martyrs, 53
and civil uprising documentation, 9–10, 12–13, 44, 47, 49–53, 67
detainment by Assad regime, 111–19, 161–65, 184–90, 234–36, 283–89
and dialogue attempts, 90–91
and early insurgency, 67–69, 72, 89–92, 93–94
escape from Rastan, 91–92
exile in Europe of, 297–302, 351–53
exile in Turkey of, 295, 296–97
memories of, 303–4
and Rastan liberation, 49
and Rastan protest and massacre (Apr. 29), 44–48
release of, 293–95
trials of, 282–83, 288
Sunni-Shiite divide, 19, 108
Sun Tzu, 64
Supreme Military Council, see Free Syrian Army
Suqoor el Ezz, 226, 233
Suri, Abu Khalid al-, 279, 280
survivor’s guilt, 178, 179
Suwais, Abdulrahman, 107, 169
Syria, civil uprising in (2011–12):
and Arab uprisings, xix
arming of, 31, 36, 37, 51, 54, 79
Assad regime surveillance, 47–48
Assad statue felling (Rastan), 11–13, 44
beginning of, xvii–xviii, xix–xxi, 5–13, 30, 31, 34, 76–78
Daraa children, xxi, 70, 76–78
dialogue attempts, 46–47, 48, 86, 90–91
documentation of, 5–6, 7, 9–10, 12–13, 44, 47, 49–53, 67
Future Movement support for, 50–51
impact on children of, 82–84
and Islamist amnesty (May 2011), 78
and Jihadi passage to Iraq, 28
Libyan embassy vigil (Feb. 23, 2011), xvii–xviii, xix–xxi
memories of, 302, 303–4, 311
military defectors, 54
misinformation about, 58, 59–61
Rastan protest and massacre (Apr. 29), 44–48
Rastan protests (Aug. 2011), 71–73
suppression of, 10–11, 35–37, 38–41, 42–43, 44, 84–85
tansiqiyas, 52, 72
Syria, civil war escalation in (2012–2013):
Antalya Conference (2012), 172–74
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