An armed organization calling itself The Islamic Resistance Front in Syria—Great Might (formerly known as The Front for the Liberation of the South) has issued statements warning the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to withdraw from southern Syria and the demilitarized zone in the Golan Heights. The group has also claimed responsibility for several attacks against the IDF in south Syria.
On December 8, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the IDF had temporarily seized control of the demilitarized buffer zone in the Golan Heights. The 235-square-kilometer zone was created under the 1974 Disengagement Agreement between Israel and Syria that ended the Yom Kippur War. Following the fall of Syria’s Bashar al Assad regime to Hayat Tahrir al Sham and allied jihadist groups in December, Israel considered the agreement void.
Since the fall of the Assad regime, Israel has carried out airstrikes against the former government’s military assets and made limited ground advances into southern Syria to secure the border. Israel further indicated its policy toward the new Syrian government led by Ahmad al Sharaa on February 25, when Netanyahu called for south Syria to be demilitarized due to the threat from Syrian government forces and terrorist organizations.
However, Israeli moves to secure the borders from the Sharaa-led government and its jihadist allies have led to another potential security challenge. Previously unknown groups appear to have formed in opposition to the presence of IDF troops in the buffer zone and south Syria.
Establishment of The Islamic Resistance Front in Syria
On January 7, the Front for the Liberation of the South announced its formation as a resistance movement, emphasizing that it comprises various segments of the Syrian population and has no allegiances to any political organizations. The group issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Israel demanding the IDF withdraw from southern Syria; otherwise, it threatened to confront Israel militarily using equipment seized from the Assad regime.
Four days later, the group changed its name to “Awli al Bas (Great Might)—The Islamic Resistance Front in Syria.” The group claims the name change was due to other groups with the same previous name existing in the same area.
The logo adopted by the organization is an adaptation of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) logo with a long arm holding an AK-47, signaling some affiliation with the other so-called muqawama (resistance) groups that have chosen similar logos. “Awli al Bas” is derived from the Quranic verse, “So when the time for the first of the two came, We roused against you slaves of Ours of great might who ravaged (your) country, and it was a threat performed.” Awli al Bas is also the name Hezbollah adopted for its campaign against Israel after Israel invaded southern Lebanon in 2024.
The Islamic Resistance Front in Syria’s statements have primarily revolved around publicizing reconnaissance missions against Israeli troops in southern Syria. However, on January 21, the group claimed that one of the battalions under its command successfully downed an Israeli drone near Al Telal al Homr in the Quneitra countryside. The claim is unsubstantiated.
On January 31, the group claimed it targeted Israeli troops in Tarnaja in the Quneitra countryside with “appropriate weapons.” The IDF later reported that “shots were heard and identified in the area in which IDF troops are operating in Syrian territory.”
The Islamic Resistance Front in Syria announced it is part of the Iranian-led Axis of Resistance and is the religious extension of the battle of “the promise of the Hereafter,” a reference to a Quranic verse that has been interpreted as the final battle to “liberate Palestine.”
On February 28, two days after Israeli airstrikes in southern Syria, the group announced that other unidentified military factions had joined it to prepare for the battle of “The Promise of the Hereafter” against Israel.
The establishment of The Islamic Resistance Front in Syria–Great Might is still in its infancy, and it’s unclear how the group is structured, what other armed organizations have joined its cause, and if it is a legitimate threat to Israeli troops operating on the Syrian border.
