Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zenki
| Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement | |
|---|---|
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حركة نور الدين الزنكي Participant in the Syrian Civil War |
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Logo of the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement
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| Active | Late 2011 – present |
| Ideology | Sunni Islamism |
| Groups |
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| Leaders | |
| Area of operations | Idlib Governorate and Aleppo Governorate, Syria |
| Part of |
Syrian Revolutionary Command Council (2014–late 2015) Levant Front (2014–15) Authenticity and Development Front (2013–14) Army of Mujahideen (2014–15) Fatah Halab (2015–16) Army of Conquest (2016) |
| Became | Tahrir al-Sham |
| Allies |
Al-Nusra Front Liwa al-Haqq |
| Opponents |
Syrian Armed Forces Fastaqim Union Ahrar al-Sham Free Syrian Army Suqour al-Sham Brigade |
| Battles and wars | |
The Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement (Arabic: حركة نور الدين الزنكي Ḥaraka Nūr ad-Dīn az-Zankī) is an Islamist group involved in the Syrian Civil War. In 2014–15 it was part of the Syrian Revolutionary Command Council and received U.S.-made BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missiles. As of 2014, it is reportedly one of the most influential factions in Aleppo.
The Nour al-Din al-Zenki Battalion was formed in late 2011 by Shaykh Tawfiq Shahabuddin in the Shaykh Salman area north-west of Aleppo. It is named after Nur ad-Din Zengi, atabeg of Aleppo, an emir of Damascus and Aleppo in the 12th century. The group's greatest concentration of fighters in the city of Aleppo are in its northwestern suburbs. Nour al-Din al-Zenki took part in the initial battles that started the Battle of Aleppo in July 2012, capturing the Salaheddine neighborhood, although it soon withdrew to its heartland in the countryside.
The group has gone through many affiliations since it was founded. It was initially a branch of the al-Fajr Movement, then went on to join the al-Tawhid Brigades during the attack on Aleppo, before withdrawing and allying with the Saudi-backed Authenticity and Development Front.
In January 2014, Nour al-Din al-Zenki was one of the founding factions in the anti-ISIL umbrella group Army of Mujahideen. In May 2014 it withdrew from the alliance and subsequently received increased financial support from Saudi Arabia, which had been reluctant to support the Army of Mujahideen due to its links with the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood. The group also received financial aid from the United States, in a CIA run program to support US-approved rebel groups, reportedly via the Turkey-based Military Operation Centre (MOC). However, by October 2015, the group claimed that it was no longer supplied by the MOC – "because of regular reports that it had committed abuses."
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