Latest Articles and Blog Posts

Islamic State Ruling on Jaysh Khalid Fitna: Translation and Analysis

April 23, 2018 at 5:04 pm

Some months after its establishment in May 2016, the Islamic State affiliate Jaysh Khalid bin al-Waleed was rocked by internal strife following the assassination of its first amir Abu Hashim al-Shami (aka Abu Hashim al-Idlibi) in October 2016, as the organization's security apparatus arrested multiple individuals who had been associated with the top leadership of what was Liwa Shuhada' al-Yarmouk, most notably the Afghan jihad veteran Abu Obeida Qahtan and al-Khal's brother Nidhal al-Baridi. These men, who are named in the document, had all been executed by the summer of 2017.

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The Life of Abu Omar al-Muwahhid of Jaysh Khalid bin al-Waleed

April 22, 2018 at 8:08 pm

Previous profiles of Jaysh Khalid bin al-Waleed members have primarily featured individuals with origins from outside the Yarmouk Basin in which the Islamic State-affiliate is primarily based. This point partly reflects the migration of Islamic State supporters from the wider Deraa and Quneitra areas to the Yarmouk Basin. However, there is still recruitment for Jaysh Khalid bin al-Waleed from the original home base localities of the Yarmouk Basin. The case of Abu Omar al-Muwahhid (Abu Omar the Monotheist) is one such example.

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review of Hired: Six Months Undercover in Low-Wage Britain

April 21, 2018  •  aymennjawad.org

Within my own primary area of study- Iraq and Syria- it quickly became apparent to me that one severe problem is a lack of fieldwork and solid documentation. The same can be said regarding the overabundance of punditry on the current state of affairs in Britain, despite the fact that fieldwork in Britain should be a much less expensive enterprise than its counterpart abroad. No need for hefty daily fixer fees. No need to pass through fragmented territories controlled by different militia factions. No fear of being arrested if you express the 'wrong' opinions.

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The Internal System of the Communes in Rojava

April 17, 2018 at 7:23 am

At present, much policy debate is focusing on whether the U.S. should retain troops in the areas controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northern and eastern Syria, as President Trump has made clear his wishes for troops to be pulled out in the near or medium-term. If the U.S. is going to stay in that territory (much of which is conventionally known as Rojava) for the long-term, then there ought to be a clear, objective understanding of the political and governing system, not based on anti-SDF partisan polemics or unwanted romanticism.

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From the Yarmouk Basin to the Homs Desert: The Life of Abu Omar Shajra

April 11, 2018 at 1:40 pm

Previous posts have explored the lives of some deceased people who were members of the Islamic State affiliate Jaysh Khalid bin al-Waleed in the Yarmouk Basin in southwest Deraa province. This post is somewhat different in exploring the life of someone from the Yarmouk Basin who migrated north and joined the Islamic State itself. That person is one Abu Omar Shajra, who (as his kunya suggests) was originally from the Yarmouk Basin locality of Shajra, currently controlled by Jaysh Khalid bin al-Waleed. For this post, I am reliant on the testimony of a cousin of his who still resides in Shajra and is supportive of the Islamic State and Jaysh Khalid bin al-Waleed.

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