Foreign jihadists involved in Hama fighting
Several foreign jihadist groups have joined rebel opposition units to help combat regime advances in the northern Hama countryside.
Several foreign jihadist groups have joined rebel opposition units to help combat regime advances in the northern Hama countryside.
The Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) in Afghanistan and Syria has long operated as part of the Taliban-al Qaeda axis. Earlier this year, however, the TIP’s Syrian branch sided with Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) during its battles with other rebel groups. This infighting and related events have complicated the picture with respect to the TIP in Syria. One TIP-affiliated outlet claimed earlier this year that the group’s senior management had sent new leadership from Afghanistan to Syria.