Liwa Owais al-Qorani

Owais al-Qorani Brigade
لواء أويس القرني
Liwa Owais al-Qorani
Participant in Syrian Civil War

The unit used the same Black Standard as ISIL.

The unit used the same Black Standard as ISIL.[1]
Active June 2012[2] – 2014[3]
2016 – present (remnants)
Ideology Islamism[1]
Uwais al-Qarani reverence[4]
Leaders Abdul Fatah Abu Muhammad[5]
Headquarters Al-Thawrah (2013–14)
Area of operations Raqqa Governorate
Part of Syrian opposition Free Syrian Army (c. 2013)[2]
Syrian Democratic Forces (since 2016)[6]
Allies Syrian opposition Syrian opposition and allied mujahideen[lower-alpha 1] (2012–2014)
 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (early 2014)[1]
SDF affiliates (since 2016)
Opponents Syria Syrian government
 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (since 2014)
Battles and wars

Syrian Civil War

The Owais al-Qorani Brigade (Arabic: لواء أويس القرني‎‎; Liwa Owais al-Qorani) is a Syrian rebel group from al-Thawrah that was formed in 2012 and revered the Islamic martyr Uwais al-Qarani. Originally part of the Free Syrian Army, the brigade later became a subordinate of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, only to be destroyed by ISIL in 2014 over disagreements. Remnants of the group eventually joined the Syrian Democratic Forces to take revenge on ISIL.

History

A convoy of vehicles of Liwa Owais al-Qorani leaving Tabqa and heading to Ayn Issa in June 2013.

The group was originally formed as "Katibat Owais al-Qorani" (Owais al-Qorani Battalion)[7] by followers of Owais al-Qorani,[4] in June 2012 as part of the Free Syrian Army.[8] It was one of the earliest rebel groups to become active in the area around al-Thawrah and among the first to carry out urban insurgency attacks against government forces inside the town. In September 2012, it reportedly ambushed Military Intelligence members in al-Thawrah. The group eventually joined a Free Syrian Army coalition.[2]

In February 2013, Katibat Owais al-Qorani was part of the rebel alliance that attacked and captured al-Thawrah from the government,[2] and thereafter helped laying siege to the nearby airport which was still held by the Syrian Army.[1] On 14 April 2013, Katibat Owais al-Qorani was reorganized into Liwa Owais al-Qorani. By this time, the group no longer used the Syrian independence flag, instead using the Black Standard variant with the "Seal of Muhammad".[9] Later that year in November, the group was among the rebel units that captured Dibsi Afnan in Al-Thawrah District.[7]

By late 2013 and early 2014, as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant rose in power in Raqqa Governorate and began to destroy other local rebel groups, Liwa Owais al-Qorani refused to take up arms against ISIL, reasoning that "all Islamic factions are brothers in religion". Though it did not swear loyalty to the Islamic State and continued to affirm its independence, this behavior resulted in Liwa Owais al-Qorani effectively becoming an ISIL subordinate.[1] In March 2014, however, a prison break of Syrian government prisoners in al-Thawrah led to severe tensions between the brigade and ISIL, and the latter eventually decided to forcibly disband Liwa Owais al-Qorani. The group's members were imprisoned[4] or executed, while Owais al-Qorani's shrine in Raqqa was destroyed by the Islamic State.[4] Some months later, several members of Liwa Owais al-Qorani's jailed leadership managed to escape ISIL custody and fled to Turkey;[10] two years later, in late 2016, these survivors returned to Syria, joining the Syrian Democratic Forces to help them push ISIL out of al-Thawrah.[6]

Notes

  1. ↑ Among the rebel groups with which Liwa Owais al-Qorani was allied, were: al-Nusra Front, Ahrar al-Sham, the al-Tawhid Brigade, Katibat al-Bara', Katibat Hudheifa bin al-Yaman, Katibat Mohammed bin Abdullah,[2] Harakat al-Fajr al-Islamiyya, Katibat Ahrar al-Tabqa (al-Thawrah), Katibat Musaib bin Umair (Maskanah), Katibat Abu Dujana (Deir Hafer), Katibat Saraya al-Furat (al-Thawrah), Katibat Usud al-Sunna, Katibat Shuhada al-Jamaa Jund al-Rahman, and Katibat Ahrar al-Badiyah[7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Aymenn Al-Tamimi (11 February 2014). "The Assad Regime and Jihadis: Collaborators and Allies?". Syria Comment.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Winter (2014), p. 12.
  3. ↑ Aymenn Al-Tamimi (29 July 2014). "The Factions of Raqqa Province". Syria Comment.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Rahat Husain (27 March 2014). "HUSAIN: Attack on Shiite shrines in Syria may result in dramatic rise in tensions". The Washington Times.
  5. ↑ "Mounting complications escape of prisoners of the system of "class" and the exchange of accusations between the "Daesh" and "Uys Karni"". Zaman al-Wasl. 20 March 2014.
  6. 1 2 https://twitter.com/Syria_Rebel_Obs/status/795521792412647425
  7. 1 2 3 Winter (2014), p. 5.
  8. ↑ "Video for the formation of the Uys Qarni Battalion in Raqqa / Tabqa / Statement". Raqqa News Network. 9 June 2012.
  9. ↑ "Statement of the formation of Uys Qarni Brigade 13 \ 4 \ 2013". awais alqorany. 13 April 2013.
  10. ↑ https://twitter.com/Syria_Rebel_Obs/status/817683646383529984

Bibliography


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