Al-Rahman Legion

Al-Rahman
فيلق الرحمن Faylaq al-Rahman
Leaders	Capt. Abdul Nasr Shamir (a.k.a. Abu Nasr, commander in chief)[1] Abu Ali Dhiya al-Shaghouri † (chief of staff)[2] Mutasim Shamir (political bureau leader)[3] Capt. Samer Salah (Abu Najib) †[4]^[better source needed] Wael Alwan (spokesman)[5]
Dates of operation	November 2013–present[1]
Group(s)	Al-Bara Brigade[6]^[better source needed] Glory Brigades[6]^[better source needed] Abu Musa al-Shari Brigade[7] Ajnad al-Sham Islamic Union (Eastern Ghouta branch)[8] Al-Habib al-Mustafa Brigade[9] 101st Battalion [10]^[better source needed]
Active regions	Eastern Damascus, Damascus Governorate; eastern Ghouta (until 31 March 2018) Eastern Qalamoun Mountains, Rif Dimashq Governorate (until April 2018)[1][11] Turkish-occupied northern Aleppo Governorate (since April 2018)
Ideology	Sunni Islamism[1]
Size	2,000 [12]-3,000 (2015) [1] 9,000 [13]-10,000 (2018)[14]
Part of	Unified Military Command of Eastern Ghouta (2014–2015)[1]
Allies	Turkey (until 2020) Tahrir al-Sham[15] Jaysh al-Islam (sometimes) Ahrar al-Sham 1st Brigade of Damascus (until May 2017) Hamas (until 2015) Aknaf Bait al-Maqdis (main faction until 2015, remnant faction until the present)[16]
Opponents	Syrian Armed Forces  Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant[17] Jaysh al-Islam (sometimes)[18][19]
Battles and wars	Syrian Civil War Opposition–ISIL conflict during the Syrian Civil War[20] Rif Dimashq offensive (September 2015) East Ghouta inter-rebel conflict (April–May 2016) Qaboun offensive (February–March 2017) Daraa offensive (February–April 2017) East Ghouta inter-rebel conflict (April–May 2017) 2017 Jobar offensive Rif Dimashq offensive (February–April 2018)  Eastern Qalamoun offensive (April 2018)

The Al-Rahman Legion is a Syrian militant group that was active in the countryside around Damascus. The group was supported by Qatar due to the group controlling Jobar.^[21] The group has been called a non-Salafi Islamist group.^[22] The group's leader is Abdul al-Nasr Shamir, a former soldier in the Syrian Arab Army but defected in 2012.^[23][24]

References

1. Nicholas A. Heras (June 30, 2015). "Beating on Assad's door: Syrian militia fighter Abd al-Nasr Shmeir (Militant Leadership Monitor Volume: 6 Issue: 6)". Jamestown Foundation. Archived from the original on 2013-04-09. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
2. Leith Abou Fadel (9 March 2018). "High ranking rebel commander killed in East Ghouta". Al-Masdar News. Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
3. "Syria rebel group fights in Damascus, talks in Geneva". AFP. 24 March 2017.
4. Leith Fadel (2 May 2017). "High ranking rebel commander killed by infighting in East Ghouta". Al-Masdar News. Archived from the original on 3 November 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
5. "Wael Alwan to "Syria Call": We blew up an advanced tunnel for the forces of the Syrian regime in the countryside of Damascus". Syria Call. 26 December 2017. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
6. JOŠKO BARIĆ (30 April 2017). "Faylaq al-Rahman's decline in East Ghouta". Syrian War Daily.
7. "Al-Majd Brigades: to make the dreams of Syrian people true - Revolutionary Forces of Syria media office". 27 October 2016. Archived from the original on 30 October 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
8. Cassman, Daniel. "Syria - Mapping Militant Organizations". web.stanford.edu.
9. hasanmustafas (8 May 2015). "The Moderate Rebels: A Growing List of Vetted Groups Fielding BGM-71 TOW Anti-Tank Guided Missiles".
10. Syrian War Daily (Wordpress blog), 11 December 2017
11. Syria’s civil war has been raging for 7 years. What’s behind it?, NBC, 22 February 2018
12. "Who are these 70,000 Syrian fighters David Cameron is relying on?". The Guardian. 30 November 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
13. "Thousands of Well-Armed Rebel Fighters Are in Syria's Ghouta". Associated Press. 28 February 2018 – via NYTimes.com.
14. Explainer: Who's fighting whom in Syria's Ghouta?, BBC Monitoring, 22 February 2018
15. "Update: Rebel Infighting in East Ghouta". Skylight Syria blog. 12 May 2017.
16. "حماس والنظام السوري.. علاقة مضطربة ومواقف متضاربة" [Hamas and the Syrian regime..a turbulent relationship and conflicting positions]. Enab Baladi (in Arabic). 2019-07-14. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
17. "Faylaq al Rahman fights against ISIS in Damascus and the surrounding countryside, including arresting alleged ISIS groups and ISIS sympathizers. On May 10, 2015 it signed a statement pledging to clear Eastern Ghouta of all ISIS militants." Jennifer Cafarella and Genevieve Casagrande, Syrian Armed Opposition Powerbrokers, Middle East Security Report 29, March 2016, Institute for the Study of War, citing Abu Abdullah Al Hourani “Faylaq Al Rahman launches attacks on factions in Ghouta after failure to pledge to Islamic State” Zaman Al Wasl, January 29, 2015
18. Rebel allies fight each other in east Damascus: monitor Archived 2018-08-04 at the Wayback Machine NOW News, 1 March 2016
19. Army of Islam Urges Al-Rahman Legion to End its Attack on East Ghouta Enab Baladi, June 16, 2016
20. "Rebels take on ISIS in new Damascus front". The Daily Star. 17 April 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
21. "The Moderate Rebels: A Growing List Of Vetted Groups Fielding Bgm-71 Tow Anti-Tank Guided Missiles". Hasan Mustafas. 8 May 2015.
22. "The Moderate Rebels: A Growing List Of Vetted Groups Fielding Bgm-71 Tow Anti-Tank Guided Missiles". Hasan Mustafas. 8 May 2015.
23. Oweis, Khaled Yacoub ; Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik -SWP- Deutsches Institut für Internationale Politik und Sicherheit (Ed.): Backbone of the Syrian revolt: inclusion of rural Sunnis key for international efforts to end conflict.
24. Oweis, Khaled Yacoub ; Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik -SWP- Deutsches Institut für Internationale Politik und Sicherheit (Ed.): Backbone of the Syrian revolt: inclusion of rural Sunnis key for international efforts to end conflict. Berlin, 2015 (SWP Comments 39/2015). URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-442697