Jaysh al-Izza
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Jaysh al-Izza | ||||||||||
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Jaysh al-Izza was a Free Syrian Army unit based in Hama governorate. It was founded as the al-Tamanah Martyrs Brigade in early 2012, based in al-Tamanah in Idlib, across the border with Hama. It absorbed several smaller groups and renamed to Tajammu al-Izza in 2013. Led by Maj. Jamil al-Saleh, an SAA defector, Tajammu al-Izza was a solidly Islamist group holding good relations with moderate and radical rebel factions alike. Saleh was known to have a close working relationship al-Nusra. Despite this, the group included several Alawite defectors, especially from the Alawite-majority town of al-Talisah, which was noted for its anti-government sympathies.
In September 2015 Tajammu al-Izza, now based in al-Lataminah in Hama, was selected by the American CIA to receive TOW anti-tank missiles. Around this time, the divide between mainstream rebel groups and al-Nusra and other jihadis was widening, and the group's usual "centrist" position became increasingly untenable. Growing uncomfortable with Nusra's belligerence and intolerance, Maj. Saleh stepped down in favor of Capt. Manaf Maarati. The latter led Tajammu al-Izza into Jaysh al-Nasr, recently formed by three other Hama-based FSA brigades. At the end of the year it renamed to Jaysh al-Izza. Facing mounting pressure from jihadis and the Assad government, the group managed to hold on to Lataminah and eventually helped reverse the momentum of both enemies. It also absorbed some defectors from the Sham Legion, which had found itself unable to choose a side in the inter-rebel conflict.