The presence of numerous auxiliary forces fighting alongside the regular Syrian military and security services against the armed opposition to Ba’athist rule is without question. Acting as ancillaries for the Ba’athist regime’s defense are a similar number of paramilitaries, including the Popular Committees, their successor,... MORE

Syria’s southwestern al-Quneitra governorate, bordering the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights and the UN administered demilitarized zone, is an active area of conflict between the armed opposition and forces loyal to the Assad regime. In addition to the geo-political significance of al-Quneitra, the governorate is important to... MORE

As Syria’s bloody conflict enters its fourth year in March, it continues to provide a battlefield that attracts jihadists from all over the world. North Caucasians, including Chechens, are no exception. Previously, many reports alleged that Chechens were present in jihadi battlefields in Afghanistan, Iraq... MORE

Kurdish jihadist militants, who were dealt a devastating blow by the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, have recently made a powerful resurgence thanks to the absence of U.S. troops in Iraq and the safe havens for extremism created by the Syrian civil war. Kurdish jihadists... MORE

During the past month, Azerbaijan’s social media has been inundated with reports about a growing number of Azerbaijani nationals who have gone to Syria to fight for the cause of Syrian rebels. Some of these fighters have already returned home. In late January 2014, the... MORE

Omar al-Shishani, the commander of Jaish al-Muhajireen wa’l-Ansar, is regarded as the best known rebel leader in the country. Omar (a.k.a. Tarkhan Batirashvili) was born in 1986 to a Christian and a Muslim mother. He hails from Birkiani, a poor village located in the Pankisi... MORE

Dr. Sami al-Aridi (a.k.a. Abu Mahmoud al-Shami) is an influential ideologue in Jabhat al-Nusra who is effectively appealing to locals in an effort to appear distant from radical groups. Al-Aridi is one of al-Nusra’s religious judges. Abu Mohammed al-Joulani, the leader of Jabhat al-Nusra, said... MORE

The situation in Syria has not changed significantly in the past month, but the same cannot be said about the Chechens who are fighting there. Indeed, the Chechen groups in Syria have evidently radicalized and split into different factions because of the dispute between al-Nusra... MORE

EASTERN SYRIAN MILITANT LEADER ANNOUNCES CHANGE OF ALLEGIANCE FROM FSA TO AL-QAEDA  Nicholas A. Heras  Saddam al-Jamal, the former leader of the Liwa Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest Brigade) announced his defection from the Free Syrian Army (FSA) to join the Islamic State of Iraq... MORE

An unattended car was found near the Syrian town of Dayr Hafir in eastern Aleppo province in late September containing an explosive belt usually worn by Abu Sa’id al-Hadrami (a.k.a. Muhammad Sa’id al-Abdullah), the amir of Jabhat al-Nusra (JN). Al-Hadrami was on his way to... MORE