A New Chapter in the Syrian Civil War Under the Leadership of Abu Mohammed al-Jolani

Abu Mohammed al-Jolani was released in 2011 during the Syrian Civil War. He then founded the al-Qaeda branch in Syria, known as the al-Nusra Front. This armed group became powerful in rebel-held areas of Syria, especially in Idlib.

Initially, Jolani worked with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was the head of the Islamic State of Iraq (IS). This armed group later took the name ISIL (ISIS). In April 2013, Baghdadi abruptly announced his separation from al-Qaeda and began to increase his activities in Syria. Eventually, ISIL merged the al-Nusra Front with itself, and ISIL was born.

Currently, the Islamist armed rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is leading the campaign to overthrow the government of Bashar al-Assad. HTS announced in a statement on Sunday that Bashar al-Assad has fled the country and Syria is now free. This is the end of a dark era and the beginning of a new one.

International media outlets are reporting on Jolani’s past and present. Al Jazeera has covered his activities over the years. Abu Mohammed al-Jolani’s real name is Ahmed Hussein al-Shara. He was born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 1982 and his family returned to Syria in 1989. Little is known about his activities while in Damascus. In 2003, he left Syria for Iraq to join al-Qaeda and participate in the anti-US resistance movement.

Jolani was captured by US forces in 2006 and held for five years. When peaceful protests for democracy began in Syria in 2011, the Assad government violently suppressed the uprising, which led to a civil war. Jolani then founded an al-Qaeda affiliate known as the al-Nusra Front.