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Abu Musa al Shishani

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Abu Musa al Shishani
AllegianceAnsar al-Sham
Jundallah
Battles / warsSyrian Civil War

Abu Musa al Shishani is the head of Jundallah in Syria and was the military emir of Ansar al-Sham.

Life

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Al Shishani reportedly has roots in the Pankisi Gorge.[1]

He traveled to Syria in 2012 and reportedly had as many as 300 in his group by the following year.[2] He was the "military strategist" of Ansar al-Sham.[3]

Ali Aswad al-Jiburi, an Iraqi ISIS militant, killed Abu Basir al-Ladhiqani, who was a member of the Free Syrian Army (FSA)'s Supreme Military Council, in the summer of 2013.[3] al-Ladhiqani was also a local leader of a rebel group in Latakia Governorate.[4]

ISIS raids on FSA bases in Latakia had started in November 2013, with deaths occurring on both sides. Al-Jiburi killed a member of Ahrar al-Sham days later, and took numerous FSA members hostage. Sayfullakh Shishani found the bodies of the five FSA members near where they were kidnapped.[5] Al Shishani and Muslim Shishani (who is reportedly his brother)[6] worked to defuse tensions between al-Jiburi and the FSA through shuttle diplomacy. Ultimately, a prisoner exchange was agreed upon.[5]

Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) sent a mediation committee in October 2021, which included members of the Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria, Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar, Ajnad al-Kavkaz and aid worker Muhammed Shakiel, to visit with Shishani and explain that he was not a target of the pending operation, which targeted Jundallah. He was reluctant to break his alliance with Jundallah, but eventually agreed to leave the area.[7] Al Shishani reportedly allied himself with Jundallah and engaged in combat with HTS.[6] He was held for eleven months by HTS and was released in September 2022.[6]

References

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  1. ^ Cecire, Michael (21 July 2015). "How Extreme are the Extremists? Pankisi Gorge as a Case Study". Foreign Policy Research Institute. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  2. ^ Vatchagaev, Mairbek (12 December 2013). "Chechens Among the Syrian Rebels: Small in Number, but Influential". Eurasia Daily Monitor. Archived from the original on 14 June 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  3. ^ a b Hussein, Tam (24 March 2014). "The Ansar al-Sham Battalions". Carnegie Endowment. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  4. ^ "Key Free Syria Army rebel 'killed by Islamist group'". BBC. 12 July 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  5. ^ a b Paraszczuk, Joanna (18 December 2018). "How Muslim Shishani & Abu Musa Shishani Prevented An FSA/ISIS War In Latakia & Facilitated A Prisoner Swap". From Chechnya to Syria. Archived from the original on 7 April 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
  6. ^ a b c al-Mahmoud, Hussam; Ibrahim, Hassan; al-Jeratli, Khaled (29 November 2022). ""Jihadists" under grip of "jihadists"". Enab Baladi. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  7. ^ "Muslim Shishani Steps Aside as HTS Concludes Security Operations against Jundullah". Levant24. 27 October 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2025.