Country Report on Terrorism 2024 - Chapter 4 - Al-Nusrah Front (ANF)

Al-Nusrah Front

Aka:  Jabhat al-Nusrah; Jabhet al-Nusrah; the Victory Front; al-Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant; al-Nusrah Front in Lebanon; Jabhat al-Nusra li-Ahl al-Sham min Mujahedi al-Sham fi Sahat al-Jihad; Support Front for the People of the Levant; Jabhat Fath al-Sham; Jabhat Fath al Sham; Jabhat Fatah al-Sham; Jabhat Fateh al-Sham; Front for the Conquest of Syria; the Front for Liberation of al Sham; Front for the Conquest of Syria/the Levant; Front for the Liberation of the Levant; Conquest of the Levant Front; Fatah al-Sham Front; Fateh al-Sham Front; Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham; Hay’et Tahrir al-Sham; Hayat Tahrir al-Sham; HTS; Assembly for the Liberation of Syria; Assembly for Liberation of the Levant; Liberation of al-Sham Commission; Liberation of the Levant Organization; Tahrir al-Sham; Tahrir al-Sham Hay’at.

Description:  Al-Nusrah Front (ANF) was designated as an FTO on May 15, 2014.  It was led by Abu Muhammad al-Jawlani.  The group formed in 2011 when then-al-Qa’ida in Iraq (AQI) – now ISIS – then-leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi sent al-Jawlanito to Syria to organize terrorist cells.  In 2013, the group split from AQI and became an independent entity.  ANF’s stated goal was to oust Syria’s Assad regime and replace it with a Sunni Islamic state.  In 2024, the group controlled a portion of territory in northwest Syria, where it operated as an opposition force and exerted varying degrees of influence over local governance and external plotting.  In 2017, ANF joined with four smaller Syrian factions and created Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (or HTS) as a vehicle to advance its position in the Syrian insurgency.  In July 2025, the Department of State revoked the FTO designation of ANF (Aka:  HTS) in line with Executive Order 14312 (Providing for the Revocation of Syria Sanctions).  Although this revocation occurred outside of the reporting period for this report, it was included to highlight an important step in fulfilling President Trump’s vision of a stable, unified, and peaceful Syria.

Activities:  In December 2024, HTS led an alliance of Syrian rebel factions in a military offensive that toppled the Syrian Assad regime.

Strength:  ANF was estimated to have between 10,000 and as many as 30,000 fighters, including subordinate factions.

Location/Area of Operation:  Syria.

Funding and External Aid:  ANF was largely self-financed.  It also receives funding from a variety of sources, including kidnapping-for-ransom payments, taxes and fees on border crossings it controls, and donations from external Gulf-based donors.  The group also generates revenue by collecting fees from commercial traffic entering and exiting Idlib.

Associated documents