Jaysh al-Jihad should not be confused with Army of the Holy War.
| Jaysh al-Jihad | |
| Native Name: | جيش الجهاد |
| Native Name Lang: | ar |
| War: | the Syrian Civil War |
| Active: | February 2015[1] – 21 May 2016 |
| Ideology: | Salafi Jihadism |
| Leaders: | Abu Mussab Al-Fanussy |
| Headquarters: | Al-Qahtaniyah, Quneitra |
| Area: | Quneitra Governorate and Daraa Governorate, Syria |
| Size: | 500 |
| Partof: | Islamic State (allegedly) |
| Successor: | Khalid ibn al-Walid Army |
| Allies: | Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade |
| Opponents: | |
| Battles: | Syrian Civil War |
Jaysh al-Jihad (Jihad Army) was an Islamist rebel group based in Quneitra Governorate. The group formed from the merger of 7 small independent groups and factions that defected from Nusra Front after it clashed with the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade in December 2014. These groups were: Jihad Brigades, Jamaat Jund al-Islam, Jamaat Abu Baseer, Mujahideen of al-Sham movement, Jamaat Shabab Ahl al-Sunnah, Nurayn Brigade, and Jamaat Bunyan al-Marsous.[1]
The group had been accused by other Syrian rebel groups of being affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).[6] [7] In April 2015, violent clashes broke out between the group and the Free Syrian Army and al-Nusra Front, after Jaish al-Jihad militants ambushed and killed six FSA fighters at a checkpoint in Quneitra.[8] By 6 May 2015, Nusra and other rebel groups announced that they had cleared al-Qahtaniyah and Quneitra city of Jaysh al-Jihad forces.[1]
In May 2016, remnants of Jaysh al-Jihad joined with two other Pro-ISIL factions in Southern Syria, the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade and Islamic Muthanna Movement, to form the Khalid ibn al-Walid Army.[9]