Kurdish Islamic Front

The Kurdish Islamic Front was a small armed Islamist insurgent group founded by a Kurdish commander named Salaheddin al-Kurdi who also served as the group's spokesman and Abu Abdullah al-Kurdi, and Sunni Kurdish Islamists of Ahrar ash-Sham in 2013, operating mainly in eastern Aleppo around al-Bab, the northern parts of the Raqqa Governorate, and the Hasakah Governorate.[3] It fought during the Syrian Civil War and was opposed to secular Syrian Kurdish groups, including those who want an independent Kurdish state.[6] The group dissolved into Ahrar al-Sham by the end of 2014.

Not to be confused with Kurdish Front.

Kurdish Islamic Front
الجبهة الإسلامية الكردية Participant in the Syrian civil war
Active	22 November 2013–8 December 2014[1]
Ideology	Salafism[2]
Leaders	Abu Abdullah al-Kurdi[3]
Size	Unknown
Part of	Islamic Front
Allies	Ahrar al-Sham Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (formerly)[2] Ahfad al-Rasul Brigades Al-Nusra Front[4] Army of Mujahideen Sham Legion[5]
Opponent(s)	Syria People's Protection Units[2] Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant[5]
Battles and war(s)	Syrian Civil War Rojava–Islamist conflict

History

The group was established on 22 November 2013 by Salaheddin al-Kurdi and Abu Abdullah al-Kurdi, who was an Islamist activist from the Kurdish enclave of Afrin in the northwestern region of Syria's Aleppo Governorate bordering Turkey and at the time under YPG control. The group then joined the Islamic Front coalition, which included Ahrar al-Sham, Jaysh al-Islam and an assortment of other groups with an Islamist orientation. During the group's existence and membership in the Islamic Front it fought alongside other Syrian rebel groups against the Syrian government and the PYD's armed branch known as the People's Protection Units which is commonly referred to as YPG.[7] Salaheddin al-Kurdi stated that the group's aims were to establish Islamic rule in Kurdish regions of Syria, that was to be led by Kurdish Muslims. Abu Abdullah al-Kurdi also stated that the group was established with support from Ahrar al-Sham as a counter-measure to YPG and to help diversify the Syrian opposition.[3] The group also ran Islamic schools for Kurdish children in Aleppo.

On 30 December 2013, the group's spokesman Salaheddin al-Kurdi said during an interview that Islamic rule would guarantee Kurdish rights and that defending Syria's Kurdish population was the primary goal of the group, adding regarding rival Kurdish groups in Syria that they were incapable of securing Kurdish interests. He also explained that the group has a presence across Kurdish populated areas of northern Syria spanning from al-Bab to Qamishli and Tell Abyad that had been taken from YPG.[8]

In December 2014, the Kurdish Islamic Front fully merged with Ahrar ash-Sham.[1]

See also

• List of armed groups in the Syrian Civil War

References

1. "Islamist Mergers in Syria: Ahrar al-Sham Swallows Suqour al-Sham". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 23 March 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
2. Sinjab, Lina (17 October 2013). "Syria crisis: Guide to armed and political opposition". BBC. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
3. "The Politics of the Islamic Front, Part 5: The Kurds". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 30 January 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
4. "Syrian Kurds' struggle for autonomy threatens rebel effort to oust Assad". New York Times. 26 July 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
5. "Freedom, Human Rights, Rule of Law: The Goals and Guiding Principles of the Islamic Front and Its Allies". Democratic Revolution, Syrian Style. 17 May 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
6. "A tapestry of war". Al-Ahram Weekly. 10 April 2014. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
7. "Who is the Kurdish Islamic Front?". Al Bawaba. 2015-08-13. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
8. "Spokesman of Kurdish Islamic Front: Islamic rule guarantees Kurdish rights in Syria". ARA News. 2013-12-30. Retrieved 2020-06-09.