In
Syria, the Saudi contingent is distinguished by the fact that it
provides a number of leaders of armed groups and many candidates for
kamikazes attacks1.
Last December, we saw a young man of 17, Mouaz al-Maataq, who arrived
in Syria. Abdul Aziz al-Othman was probably one of the first Saudis
to land on the battlefield. It is part of the leadership of al-Nosra
and he died in al-Shaddadi in the province of Hasakah, with another
Saudi, Omar al-Mouhaisini, apparently in a car accident. We know he
was close to Golani, the head of al-Nosra. Presumably the Saudis
veterans of al Qaeda or Afghanistan established the first cells in
Syria. Abu Khalid as-Suri, an important figure of jihadism, have
participated in the formation of the first Islamic battalion ; we
know that later Zawahiri has chosen him as an arbitrator in the
dispute between al-Nosra and ISIS. Souri obviously played an
important role, from May 2011, in the formation of the movement that
became Ahrar al-Sham, today one of the most powerful group of Islamic
Front; Saudis joined rather then al-Nosra.Suri
was killed February 23, 2014 in a suicide bombing near Aleppo,
attributed to ISIS. His real name was Mohammed al-Bahaiya, he was
born in 1963 in Aleppo. Before the Syrian conflict, he was best known
for being close to Abu Musab al-Suri, another Aleppin. The two men
had left Syria after the crushing of the revolt of the Muslim
Brotherhood in 1982 by Hafez al-Assad. They had contributed to the
creation of media and training camps in Afghanistan in the 1990's.
They were close to bin Laden and but are also distinguished
occasionally in supporting Mullah Omar and declaring in 1999 to not
be members of al-Qaeda. By personal and remittances contacts, yet
they are linked to terrorist attacks in Madrid in March 2004. Abu
Musab is taken by the Pakistanis and Americans in 2005 and ends in
Syrian jails, perhaps accompanied by Abu Khalid. In May 2013,
however, it is the latter that Zawahiri chose as his emissary to
settle the dispute between the nascent ISIS and al-Nosra2.
Abu Khalid was then part of the leadership of the Ahrar al-Sham
group, one of the most powerful of the Syrian uprising, now part of
the Islamic Front, which is composed of many Salafi imprisoned before
the revolution in central Sednaya prison north of Damascus, including
those having fought in Iraq. There are even framed in Ahrar al-Sham
veterans of the failed uprising of the Muslim Brotherhood against the
Syrian regime between 1979 and 1982, including his fighter wing, the
Fighting Vanguard, as Abu Khalid. The involvement of the latter in
Ahrar al-Sham shows especially links that may arise between a
"local"armed group and members of the "global"
jihad as Abu Khalid3.
It
is also known that Sheikh Abdel Wahed, "Hawk of the Jihad"
is one of the first Afghan veterans arrived in Syria after the
outbreak of the insurrection. Set in the mountains of Latakia, he
founded the Suqur al-Izz al-Makki al-Bawardi group, which quickly
attracted major figures of the Afghan jihad, Abdel Malak al-Ihsa'i
(Abu Leen), Zaid (Abu Ammar) and Abu Muhammad al-Halabi, men of the
first generation who have spent 25 years fighting-from Afghanistan to
Iraq through Bosnia and Chechnya and who all perished in Syria. Suqur
al-Izz also had the task of hosting migrants from the Turkish border
before they are divided into battalions. Suqur al-Izz, down funding
from the Gulf in particular, preferred rallied al-Nosra January 13,
2014, ten days after the outbreak of fighting against ISIS. The
group, which operates in the province of Latakia, participated in the
offensive against Kessab from March 21, 2014 ; it now appears more
like a front screen for al-Nosra and al-Qaeda, in the same way that
the Harakat al-Sham group in the same region, which is itself
composed of Moroccans4.
Najmeddine Azad, who had fought with bin Laden in Afghanistan, is
also coming to Syria despite his leg, as Fayez al-Mitab, which hosted
bin Laden in his home in Saudi Arabia. Convoys of Saudi jihadists
have become even more important with the creation of al-Nosra and the
use of suicide attacks. Abdul Hakim al-Muwahad, yet forbidden of
travel by Saudi authorities, also left to Syria, where he became the
coordinator to attract Saudis to wage jihad and let them cross the
border, avoiding security services.
 | |
| Le drapeau du groupe Suqur al-Izz.-Source : http://azelin.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/untitled44.png?w=300&h=166 |
 |
| Ayad al-Shahrani, un martyr saoudien de Suqur al-Izz.-Source : http://azelin.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/untitled55.png?w=300&h=168 |
This
is not the first jihadist banned by the Saudi authorities who left to
Syria. Abdullah bin al-Otaibi, Qaed Badr bin Ajab Mqati, al-Abdulla
al-Sudairi, Uqab Mamdouh Marzouki, have also, as dozens more, all
left by Riyadh airport as they say on Twitter. Sibaie was killed in
August 2013 in Jobar near Damascus, but his brother Suleiman joined
the jihad, he had lent his passport and papers to his brother, proof
that he was able to get new ones. The amazing thing is that the
Saudis who are protesting against the regime in Saudi Arabia or
participating in sit-in for the release of political prisoners now
join the jihad in Syria. Often, moreover, it was after they was
arrested and detained and released only after two or three weeks
these opponents leave to this new land of jihad. Without combat
experience, many are killed quickly, as Mohammed al-Taleq who died
only five days after his arrival. We also know that some jihadists
returned temporarily in Saudi Arabia for short "vacation",
before returning to Syria. Since autumn 2013, the recruitment is
obviously no more limited to disadvantaged classes but also relates
to the middle class and even the stratum just below the Saudi
princes. Many preachers arrived in Syria, and even army officers or
their parents. Nayef al-Shammari, a commander of the Saudi Border
Guard, was killed in Deir Attiyeh in December 2013. Motlaq al-Motlaq
is killed in Aleppo, he was the son of General Abdullah al-Sudairi
Motlaq, the officers center's director. He supported the jihad since
2012 by collecting funds. His uncle, the brother of the general, is
part of the leadership of jihadist groups in Syria.
 |
| Nayef al-Shammari.-Source : http://humanrightsactivists.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/1075713_424566027658763_1741033142_n.jpg |
For
Meir Amit Center, in his study of foreign fighters from the
insurgency in the Arab world in early 2014, the Saudis are one of the
largest groups, with nearly a thousand men in Syria, a figure
confirmed by the authorities last February5.
Most serve in al-Nosra or ISIS. In June 2013, the bodies of 70
Saudis, including three women, killed in Syria, were repatriated to
Saudi Arabia. An unofficial site has so far identified 223 Saudis
killed in this land of jihad, which gives an idea of the commitment
of this population in the Syrian conflict, into rebel side. Most come
from Turkey to Syria after shipped by plane at the airport in Riyadh.
Only a few come by terrestrial journey to the border of Jordan. Saudi
fighters come from all over the kingdom, but the central region of
Al-Qassim and its capital, Buraidah, excel. The demonstrations
against the government were common in this region. Another area that
provides volunteers is that of Al-Jawf, close to the Jordanian
border. The number of veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq is
incomparably smaller than the mass of volunteers with no military
experience. Moreover, many Saudis are used by al-Nosra or ISIS for
kamikaze attacks. Suleiman Subai'i Saud, a Saudi fighter, 25, was
part of ISIS, he was arrested upon his return to Saudi Arabia. He
then reflected on television March 5th, 2014 : according to him, most
executives are Iraqis or Saudis in ISIS. He refused several times to
record a video to call for the Saudis to join the Syrian jihad. In
addition, he said that the Saudis are fighting in the front line.
There are at least 11 Saudis who carried out suicide bombings there
in 2013.
Saudi
Arabia supported armed groups in Syria from the label "Free
Syrian Army" or Islamist groups among the Syrian uprising.
Behind the Assad regime is especially Iran, the largest regional
rival, which is covered by Saudi Arabia. However, Saudi fighters
veterans from Syrian jihad may well pose a threat to the kingdom, as
were those returning from Afghanistan in the 1990's. Early May 2014,
the security services have dismantled a network and preparing
attacks, in conjunction with ISIS and jihadists in Yemen. Saudi
authorities are aware of the problem as early as spring 2013, but
accelerate measures to the end of 2013 and in the first months of
2014. In December 2013, a new anti-terrorism law is adopted, then,
February 3, 2014, a royal decree prohibits the Saudis to fight in
foreign wars, and calls those who have already left to return to
their country.
Aaron
Zelin, author of a recent article about the Saudi contingent, says
jihad in Syria differs significantly, for example, that in
Afghanistan against the Soviets, as it includes almost exclusively
fighters6.
The Saudis made up the bulk of the foreign contingent in Afghanistan
and Chechnya, to a lesser extent in Bosnia. In Iraq from June 2003 to
June 2005, a study also points out that the Saudis constitute 55% of
foreign fighters ... followed by the Syrians. Document capture from
al-Qaida in Iraq again shows that the Saudis are more than 40% of
foreigners between August 2006 and August 2007. Aaron Zelin has
counted at least 300 fatalities Saudi Syria since the beginning
conflict to late February 2014, one of the highest figures for
foreign fighters. So there would be at least 600 Saudis in Syria and
Iraq, since ISIS straddles the two states. The strong presence of the
Saudis is proven since 2013. Initially, it was mainly combatants
neighboring countries, veterans of fighting in Iraq against the
Americans, who left to Syria (Lebanese, Jordanians, Iraqis). In 2012,
we especially note the importance of Libyans and Tunisians, two
countries that have completed their revolution and chased dictatorial
regimes. For Aaron Zelin, the influx of Saudis from spring 2013 is
caused by the massive intervention of Hezbollah to support the Syrian
regime, which in turn causes calls to jihad in Saudi Arabia, such as
the cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi.
Of
the 300 killed Saudis we can draw a little more detailed portrait
from 203 cases. Recruitment affects the whole country since a single
region of 13 is not shown. Many Saudis are famous among the
contingent. Abd Allah bin Muhammad bin Sulayman al-Muhaysini, a Sunni
cleric, followed the teachings of a religious arrested by the Saudi
authorities in 2004 for supporting al-Qaeda. He provided arms, funds
the insurgency and assistance to Syrian refugees. He went to Syria in
2013 and has been seen in the company of members of the al-Nosra and
Omar al-Shishani, who runs a group of Chechens and then joined ISIS.
Since January 2014 and the battle between al-Nosra and ISIS, he
distanced himself from the latter group. In March, he established the
training camp called al-Farouq, a nod to the camp of the same name in
Afghanistan's Talibans before September 11. Abd al-Muhsin Abd Allah
Ibrahim al-Sharikh, who died in Syria March 21, 2014, a veteran of
jihad from Afghanistan, third cousin of Bin Laden, with two of his
brothers who went through Guantanmo, was a member of the "Committee
for the Victory." Before reaching Syria, he was in the
Afghani-Pakistani border area. Since January 2014, he has not taken
sides in the conflict al-Nosra/ISIS but we also know that it supports
Ahrar al-Sham and al-Nosra.
1Abdullah
Suleiman Ali, « Saudi jihadists flow into Syria »,
Al-Monitor, 8 décembre 2013.
5The
Phenomenon of Foreign Fighters from the Arab World in the Syrian
Civil War, Most of Them Fighting in the Ranks of Organizations
Affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Global Jihad, The Meir Amit
Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, mai 2014.
6Aaron
Y. Zelin, « The Saudi Foreign Fighter Presence in Syria »,
CTC Sentinel, avril 2014 Vol 7. Issue 4, p.10-14.