Liwa al-Muqatileen al-Ansar (LMA)

Introduction

Liwa al-Muqatileen al-Ansar (LMA) broke from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) umbrella in June 2020 over disagreements regarding the future of Idlib and the Turkish presence in the Syrian province. The group’s founder, Abu Malik al-Talli, who had been a senior leader in HTS, and his supporters aligned themselves with al-Qaeda, and thus opposed both the arrival of Turkish forces and HTS’s continued distancing from its al-Qaeda past. LMA joined Hurras al-Din (HaD)’s new “So be Steadfast” operations room in June 2020, but HTS arrested Talli a few weeks later.* Talli remains in custody and his group effectively disbanded by HTS.*

Leadership

Abu Malik al-Shami (a.k.a. Abu Malik al-Talli, Jamal Zainiyya) (leader)*

Base of Operations

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Website

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Membership Size and Relevance

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Recruitment and Propaganda

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Violent Activities

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Rhetoric

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Daily Dose

Extremists: Their Words. Their Actions.

Fact:

On April 3, 2017, the day Vladimir Putin was due to visit the city, a suicide bombing was carried out in the St. Petersburg metro, killing 15 people and injuring 64. An al-Qaeda affiliate, Imam Shamil Battalion, claimed responsibility. 

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