The Syrian Jihad: Al-Qaeda, the Islamic State and the Evolution of an Insurgency [Paperback]

The book contains a great deal of primary source material gleaned from three years of engagement and contacts within the Islamist and jihadist communities active in Syria. This includes much information never before made public by any source.The eruption of the anti-Assad revolution in Syria has had many unintended consequences, among which is the opportunity it offered Sunni jihadists to establish a foothold in the heart of the Middle East. That Syria's ongoing civil war is so brutal and protracted has only compounded the situation, as have developments in Iraq and Lebanon. Ranging across the battlefields and international borders have been dozens of jihadi Islamist fighting groups, of which some coalesced into significant factions such as Jabhat al Nusra and the Islamic State.This book assesses and explains the emergence since 2011 of Sunni jihadist organizations in Syria's fledgling insurgency, charts their evolution and situates them within the global Islamist project. Unprecedented numbers of foreign fighters have joined such groups, who will almost certainly continue to host them. Thus, external factors in their emergence are scrutinized, including the strategic and tactical lessons learned from other jihadist conflict zones and the complex interplay between Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State and how it has influenced the jihadist sphere in Syria. Tensions between and conflict within such groups also feature in this indispensable volume.AcknowledgementsPrefaceIntroductionPART ISETTING THE SCENE1. Breaking Down the Barriers: Protest2. Underlying Instability3. Syria's Flirtation with JihadismPART IIFIRST ON THE SCENE4. March - December 2011: Jabhat Al-Nusra Forms5. January - August 2012: Jabhat Al-Nusra Emerges6. September 2012 - March 2013: Jabhat Al-Nusra RisesPART IIIMAKING A SCENE7. April - June 2013: The Islamic State Joins the Conflict8. July - December 2013: Rising Tensions9. January - April 2014: Turning Against the Islamic StatePART IVCALIPHATES, EMIRATES Alã„