Syria: Al Qaeda

(asked on 19th January 2017) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the strength of al-Qaeda in Syria.


Answered by
Ben Wallace Portrait
Ben Wallace
This question was answered on 26th January 2017

Al-Qaeda’s presence in Syria predates the present conflict. The Assad regime historically tolerated the group as a means of destabilising Iraq and preventing the group targeting his regime.

Since the start of the conflict, al-Qaeda, primarily through their affiliate Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, have exploited areas where there is a lack of effective governance to control pockets of territory, promote a radical ideology and attempt to undermine efforts to resolve the conflict.

Despite nominally disaffiliating in July 2016, we assess that Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (JFS) retain strong links to al-Qaeda. This is reflected in HMG’s proscription of JFS as an alias of al-Qaeda. By establishing itself as an effective opposition force through Jabhat Fatah al-Sham and other sympathetic groups, al-Qaeda has managed to populate significant areas of north-west Syria, likely increasing their ability to plan, train and develop capability for external attacks.

By establishing itself as an effective opposition force through Jabhat Fatah al-Sham and other sympathetic groups, al-Qaeda has managed to populate significant areas of north-west Syria with supportive networks, establishing and improving its operational capability. This is likely providing al-Qaeda with safe areas of operating space to plan, train and develop capability for external attacks, as well as access to numerous potential operatives.

Reticulating Splines