In the notoriously fluid Syrian conflict, a host of rebel groups are fighting the government and competing for resources, forming and dissolving tactical alliances but rarely making major gains. Against this fractured backdrop, though, a new name — the Army of Conquest — has emerged this year, first with victories on the battlefield and now as a target of Russian intervention.
What is it?
The Army of Conquest, or Jaish al-Fatah in Arabic, is a loose alliance of armed rebel groups formed in March to fight the forces of President Bashar al-Assad. It is not a unified army; its member groups share resources and coordinate their efforts in battle, but they remain independent, and there is no overall military commander.
Who are its members?
The alliance consists of a number of mostly Islamist factions, including the Nusra Front, Al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate; Ahrar al-Sham, another large group; and more moderate rebel factions that have received covert arms support from the intelligence services of the United States and its allies.
What are its aims?
Some of its fighters want to found an Islamist government in Syria, while others want a secular state. But they are united in opposing both the Assad government and the Islamic State, the jihadist group that holds large areas of Syria and Iraq and has declared a caliphate there.
What has the alliance accomplished?
By working together, the Army of Conquest has racked up victories over Mr. Assad’s forces this year, seizing Idlib, a provincial capital; the strategic town of Jisr al-Shughour; and a number of other military positions, mostly in Idlib Province. More recently, it has challenged government forces in Latakia Province, the heartland of Mr. Assad’s Alawite sect and a stronghold of his supporters, posing the most serious threat to the government in that area since the civil war began in 2011. The alliance’s forces in Latakia were the targets of some of the Russian airstrikes on Thursday.
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Where Russian and American Weapons Have Been Fired in Syria
Pro-government forces pushed north along several routes Thursday in a heavily contested region of northeastern Syria.
