Fatah al-Islam

Fatah al-Islam
فتح الإسلام Participant in the 2007 Lebanon conflict and the Syrian Civil War
The flag of Fatah al-Islam
Active	2006–present
Ideology	Takfiri Sunni Islamism Salafist Jihadism
Leaders	Shaker al-Abssi † Abu Mohamad Awad † Abu Hussam al Shami †
Headquarters	Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian Refugee Camp Nahr al-Bared Palestinian Refugee Camp (former)
Area of operations	Lebanon Syria
Strength	~200
Originated as	Fatah al-Intifada
Allies	Islamic State Jund al-Sham Osbat al-Nour
Opponents	Lebanese Armed Forces Syrian Armed Forces Fatah al-Intifada
Battles and wars	2007 Lebanon conflict Syrian Civil War

2007 Lebanon conflict
Timeline
Combatants Fatah al-Islam Jund al-Sham Lebanese Armed Forces
Locations Tripoli Nahr al-Bared Ain al-Hilweh
Related topics Bikfaya bombings
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Fatah al-Islam (Arabic: فتح الإسلام'‎‎, meaning Conquest of Islam) is a radical Sunni Islamist group that formed in November 2006 in a Palestinian refugee camp, located in Lebanon. It has been described as a militant jihadist movement that draws inspiration from al-Qaeda. It became well known in 2007 after engaging in combat against the Lebanese Army in the Nahr al-Bared UNRWA Palestinian refugee camp. Following its defeat at Nahr el-Bared, the group relocated to the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp near Sidon in 2008. As of 2014, after the death or capture of many members, most of the surviving members of Fatah al-Islam are thought to have joined other groups in Lebanon and Syria including the Free Syrian Army, Al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

The United States Department of State classified the group as a terrorist organization on 9 August 2007 but it was not classified as such anymore on 24 November 2010.

Fatah al-Islam was led by a fugitive militant named Shaker al-Abssi, a Palestinian refugee who was born in Jericho in 1955. Al-Abssi was once a pilot with the rank of colonel.