Database: Identifiers of Designated Islamic Terrorist Organizations

Jabhat Fatah al-Sham

Not yet designated terrorist by a Western country
Base of operations: Syria

Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (Conquest of al-Sham Front) is the successor organization to Jabhat al-Nusra, which was dissolved following the formal renunciation of ties to al-Qaeda on 28 July 2016 in a video broadcast featuring Jabhat al-Nusra leader Abu Muhammad al-Jowlani, senior Jabhat al-Nusra Shari'i official and Shura council member Abu Abdullah al-Shami (Abdulrahim Attoun) and Abu al-Faraj al-Masri (Ahmad Salama Mabruk). The move was justified as necessary to protect the interests of the jihad in Syria and quickly followed on from an audio recording of Zawahiri's deputy released by Jabhat al-Nusra's media wing, in which essentially the green light was given for the formal renunciation.

It is clear the 'split' with al-Qaeda here has been guided and approved by al-Qaeda's central leadership, with the aim of creating a broader coalition to bolster the prospects of establishing an Islamic emirate in Syria while outsmarting the U.S. amid the proposed coordination with Russia to target Jabhat al-Nusra. A direct challenge has been put to other insurgent factions in Syria that objected to the official affiliation with al-Qaeda.

On 28 January 2017, Jabhat Fatah al-Sham came together with four other factions to form Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham.

Jabhat Fatah al-Sham Emblem	Jabhat Fatah al-Sham Flag	Jabhat Fatah al-Sham: Bunyan Media