Farouq Brigades
| Farouq Brigades | |
|---|---|
|
كتائب الفاروق Participant in Syrian Civil War |
|
 |
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| Active | 2011–2014 (largely defunct) |
| Ideology | Sunni Islamism |
| Leaders | Abdul Razzaq Tlass (October 2011 – 6 October 2012) Osama Juneidi (Abu Sayeh) Taleb al-Dayekh |
| Headquarters | Homs |
| Area of operations |
Homs Governorate, Syria Aleppo Governorate, Syria |
| Strength | 14,000–20,000 (own claim) (May–June 2013) |
| Part of |
Free Syrian Army Syrian Islamic Liberation Front (2012-2013) Ahrar al-Sham |
| Originated as | Khalid bin Walid Brigade |
| Allies |
Suqour al-Sham Liwa al-Islam Liwa Thuwwar al-Raqqa People's Protection Units |
| Opponents |
Syrian Armed Forces Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant |
| Battles and wars | |
The Farouq Brigades (Arabic: كتائب الفاروق), also spelt Farooq and Farook, is an armed rebel organisation formed by a number of Homs based members of the Free Syrian Army early in the Syrian Civil War. The group rapidly expanded in size and prominence in 2012, before suffering internal splits and battlefield reversals in 2013 that greatly reduced its influence. By 2014 the group was largely defunct, with member factions joining other rebel groups. The brigades were named Farouq after Omar bin al-Khattab, a Sahaba (companion) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the second Caliph.
The Farouq Brigades emerged from the central city of Homs just months into the Syrian Civil War. Its beginnings are as a subunit of the Khalid bin Walid Brigade, a group of defectors from the Syrian Army that announced its formation in June 2011 and engaged in clashes with members of the Syrian security forces in Homs and Al-Rastan. During the second half of 2011, Farouq was active in Homs, particularly the Baba Amr neighborhood. It was led by a defector, Lieutenant Abdul Razaq Tlass, who was a nephew of the former Syrian Defense Minister Mustafa Tlass. The apparent success of Farouq in holding territory in Baba Amr lead to the Syrian government escalating their use of force in an offensive in early 2012, causing heavy casualties amongst the rebels and forcing their retreat into the Homs countryside and the towns of Al-Qusayr and Al-Rastan.
In the following months, Farouq absorbed preexisting rebel units and formed new ones across Syria, from Daraa in the south near the Jordanian border to the Farouq al-Shemal (Northern Farouq) which controlled some of the border posts in the north with Turkey.
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Wikipedia