Abu Jaber Shaykh

Hashim al-Shaykh (Arabic: هاشم الشيخ‎), also known by his nom de guerre Abu Jaber Shaykh (Arabic: أبو جابر الشيخ‎) is a rebel commander during the Syrian Civil War who is a senior leader of Tahrir al-Sham. He had reportedly resigned from his position in Ahrar al-Sham where he served as a senior commander to help command and direct the merger. Abu Jaber is a Salafist Muslim with a jihadist ideology, which is reflected in the ideology of the group he leads.[1]

Not to be confused with Diana Abu-Jaber.

Abu Jaber Shaykh
Native name
أبو جابر الشيخ
Birth nameHashim al-Shaykh
Nickname(s)Abu Jaber Shaykh
Born1968 (1968) (age 53)[1]
Maskanah, Syria
Allegiance
Service/branchTahrir al-Sham
Years of service2011–present
Commands held
  • General commander of Ahrar al-Sham (2014–15)
  • Commander of the Army of Aleppo (February 2016)
  • Emir of Tahrir al-Sham (January–October 2017)
  • Shura head of Tahrir al-Sham (October 2017–present)
Battles/warsSyrian Civil War
Alma materUniversity of Aleppo[1]

Pre-war activities

Abu Jaber received a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Aleppo. After this, he worked at the Defence Factories near as-Safira. His Salafist activities led to him being arrested by the Syrian government several times. In 2005, he was imprisoned in the Sednaya Prison, infamous for holding a number of other Salafist prisoners who were later released.[1]

Syrian Civil War

On 25 September 2011, during the early phase of the Syrian Civil War, Abu Jaber was released from Sednaya Prison along with a number of other Salafist and jihadist political prisoners. He joined Harakat Fajr ash-Sham al-Islamiya and fought alongside the al-Nusra Front. He led a subgroup within Harakat Fajr ash-Sham al-Islamiya called the Mus‘ab ibn 'Umair Battalion, which became one of the founding members of Ahrar al-Sham. As of 2017, Abu Jaber was one of the three surviving founding figures of Ahrar al-Sham.[1]

In September 2014, the founder and commander of Ahrar al-Sham, Hassan Aboud, was assassinated along with 45 of his fighters in a bombing in the Idlib Governorate. Abu Jaber replaced his position and became the overall commander of Ahrar al-Sham.[3] He resigned and was replaced by Muhannad al-Masri (Abu Yahia al-Hamawi) in September 2015.[4] An Ahrar al-Sham spokesman described Abu Jaber's leadership as the "hardest" period of the group.[5]

On 15 February 2016, during the northern Aleppo offensive, 8 rebel factions pledged allegiance to Abu Jaber and established the Army of Aleppo to fight the Syrian Armed Forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces, including the Army of Revolutionaries.[2]

On 28 January 2017, Abu Jaber and dozens of other Ahrar al-Sham commanders declared their resignation from Ahrar al-Sham as five major Salafist and jihadist rebel groups led by the al-Nusra Front merged into Tahrir al-Sham. Abu Jaber became the group's emir.[6] Abu Jaber is one of the three surviving founding leaders of Ahrar al-Sham, and their decision to join the merger significantly discredited the group.[7]

Abu Jaber released a speech on 8 February 2017,[8] where he called Shia Islam the "enemy"[9]

On 1 October 2017, Abu Jaber resigned from his position as the general commander of Tahrir al-Sham, being replaced by Abu Mohammad al-Julani. Abu Jaber took another position as the head of HTS's Shura council.[10]

See also

References
  1. THOMAS JOSCELYN (10 February 2017). "Hay'at Tahrir al Sham leader calls for 'unity' in Syrian insurgency". Long War Journal.
  2. "Aleppo rebels rally around former Ahrar leader". Now News. 16 February 2016.
  3. "Syria rebels name slain leader's replacement". Al-Jazeera. 11 September 2014.
  4. http://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/commentary/565927-ahrar-al-sham-a-new-leader-without-a-new-agenda
  5. "After trying period, Ahrar al-Sham infuses leadership with 'new blood'". Syria:direct. 13 September 2015.
  6. Thomas Joscelyn (28 January 2017). "Al Qaeda and allies announce 'new entity' in Syria". FDD's Long War Journal.
  7. News, OGN (29 January 2017). "Tahrer Sham: Who won in this merger?". Archived from the original on 1 February 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  8. Lister, Charles (8 February 2017). "HTS has announced that its leader Abu Jaber (Hashem al-Sheikh) will soon issue a video statement". Twitter.
  9. Lister, Charles (9 February 2017). "HTS leader Abu Jaber". Twitter.
  10. "Julani is a temporary leader of the "Liberation of the Sham" .. This is the fate of its former leader". HuffPost. 2 October 2017. Archived from the original on 2 October 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
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