Active 21 May 2016 – present Strength 1,100–1,500+ | Ideology Salafi jihadism | |
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Groups Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade
Islamic Muthanna Movement
Jaysh al-Jihad Leaders Abu Hashim al-Hamawi
Abu Hashim al-Shami † (2016)
Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi (2016–present) Area of operations Daraa Governorate and Quneitra Governorate, Syria | ||
The Khalid ibn al-Walid Army (Arabic: جيش خالد بن الوليد Jaysh Khalid ibn al-Waleed) is an armed Salafi jihadist group active in southern Syria. It was formed by a merger of the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade, the Islamic Muthanna Movement, and the Army of Jihad, all affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, on 21 May 2016. The faction controls a strip of territory southeast of the Golan Heights, and is in conflict with forces of the Syrian rebels.
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Ideology
The Khalid ibn al-Walid Army enforces a strict form of Sharia. In the small pocket the group controls, its fighters forced women to wear niqabs and men to wear loose trousers and to grow long hair and beards. Since 2016, the group has executed more than 20 people, mostly in the town of Shajara by beheading. The group has also locked smokers in cages and amputated people on allegations of theft.
History
The group is named after Khalid ibn al-Walid, who led the Muslim armies in the Battle of Yarmouk in 636 CE, which inflicted a heavy defeat on the Byzantine Army and led to the Muslim conquest of the Levant.
The date on the document declaring the establishment of the group is 14 Sha'aban 1437, corresponding to Saturday 21 May 2016 and is signed by Abu Hashim al-Shami (also known as Abu Hashim al-Hamawi), the emir of the group.
On 14 August 2016, the Khalid ibn al-Walid Army launched a major attack against the Army of Conquest-held town of Hawd al-Yarmouk; however, despite heavy fighting and losses on both sides, no progress was made by the ISIL fighters.
They launched another offensive in February 2017.