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3. HTS: From a Jihadist Group to a Military Power

Over the years, Islamist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has built a substantial military arsenal and established a force that is both professional and cohesive – an accomplishment that posed a significant challenge when the group was formed in 2017, following the merger of Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (formerly al-Nusra) with five other jihadist factions.

According to international experts, the group was capable of mobilizing around 30,000 fighters, including 15,000 full-time soldiers. It also received support from other armed factions within the opposition.

A Well-Equipped and Efficient Arsenal

From the outset, HTS benefited from the full range of weapons held by the various factions that had merged under its banner. Light weapons have been especially abundant in Syria since the start of the war, largely due to support for rebel groups from Turkey, Gulf states and the United States.

After seizing control of the Idlib region, HTS confiscated large quantities of weapons from other rebel factions and continued to seize arms throughout the fighting – from the Syrian government, Hezbollah and other armed groups. As a result, HTS fighters possess tanks, armored vehicles and even surface-to-air missiles.

The group also operates a local weapon manufacturing industry, producing long-range missiles, rockets, mortar shells and drones. The production of drones by HTS has sparked debate among international experts. Some claim these drones are made using 3D printers in small workshops, based on Iranian and Russian models recovered on the battlefield, while others argue they are based on foreign prototypes, particularly Ukrainian. Several Ukrainian and American media outlets have reported that Ukrainian drones were supplied to HTS.

Other experts, however, point to Turkey’s involvement, suggesting that Turkish forces supplied drones to the movement and trained fighters to operate them. “Suicide drones are widely used in Ukraine,” notes Thomas Pierret, a CNRS researcher and Syria specialist. “We’ve never really had proof of Ukrainian intelligence involvement; it was the Russians who accused them shortly before the offensive on Damascus.”

“At any rate, it’s possible that HTS modeled their drones after Ukrainian, Iranian and Russian designs. However, they’ve also been creative, developing their own Shaheen suicide drones, which have been widely used in their operations,” he adds.

In October 2023, a drone strike killed over 100 people during a graduation ceremony for Syrian army officers in Homs. While the attack was not claimed, many experts, including Aaron Y. Zelin, believe HTS was behind it. Drones are the specialty of HTS’s al-Shaheen Brigade, which has been using and developing them for years.

A Strong Formation

Over the years, HTS established a functioning army, complete with a military academy and a centralized chain of command, according to the Financial Times. The group enlisted former Syrian army officers to oversee the academy, replicating the military service curriculum with a nine-month training program.

HTS is structured around four main armies, each named after one of the first four caliphs. It also maintains independent brigades, including its special forces unit, al-Asaib al-Hamra, which primarily conducts operations behind enemy lines. Since the establishment of the Syrian Salvation Government (SSG), HTS has formed police forces under the Interior Ministry and a general security service tasked with fighting organized crime, drug trafficking and Islamic State cells.

A February 2020 report by the Washington Institute found that HTS conducted recruitment campaigns on social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram to attract new fighters. According to the report, salaries fluctuated on the basis of years of service, marital status, assignment and the prevailing exchange rate. For example, in September 2019, a married fighter earned 45,000 Syrian pounds per month (roughly $41 to $45), while a single fighter received 38,000 pounds (about $35 to $38).

HTS also backed so-called “independent” social media campaigns, such as “Equip a Raider” in 2019, which solicited donations via WhatsApp to purchase military gear, and “Mobilize” in 2020, aimed at recruiting fighters to counter Russian and Syrian government offensives.

Limited but Ongoing International Support

While HTS has benefited from indirect support from countries like Turkey, the United States and Gulf states, acquiring weapons from more moderate rebel factions, some experts suggest it may have received more concrete international backing as well.

For example, Israel is known to have provided medical care to rebels from southern Syria, including members of Jabhat al-Nusra, in the early stages of the war. In 2019, an Israeli commander confirmed that Israel had armed some rebel groups, although there is no conclusive evidence of long-term Israeli involvement with HTS.

In its efforts to “normalize” its standing on the international stage, HTS sought to improve its image by fighting the West’s adversaries, such as the Islamic State and al-Qaeda. Between 2018 and 2022, according to Aaron Y. Zelin, HTS conducted 59 operations against the Islamic State and apprehended 279 individuals. The group also frequently clashed with Hurras al-Din, a splinter faction of Jabhat al-Nusra that refused to sever ties with al-Qaeda.

Several experts believe that HTS cooperated with the international coalition to fight ISIS and al-Qaeda in order to legitimize itself globally. “HTS has been a key partner for the United States in Syria, due to the coordination between HTS and intelligence services,” confirms Tammy Palacios, a counterterrorism analyst at the New Lines Institute, in an interview with This is Beirut. “This enabled us to neutralize a significant number of members from extremist groups, including operatives from al-Qaeda and ISIS, across Syria, Iraq and other regions of the Middle East. This cooperation has been highly successful in recent years,” she states.

Despite the $10 million bounty on HTS leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, the US has never made a serious effort to capture or eliminate him in recent years, allowing al-Jolani to move freely within Idlib.