By Samah Abdul Fattah | 2025-01-31

By blocking an "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) plot to bomb a shrine near Damascus, Tahrir al-Sham demonstrated its dominance over the rival extremist group, to which its leader Ahmed al-Sharaa once belonged.

Al-Sharaa's forces on January 11 announced they had thwarted an ISIS plot to bomb Sayyida Zainab, a prominent Shia shrine on the southern outskirts of Damascus, detaining multiple suspects and seizing explosives.

The incident further underscores that ISIS has no influence in "new Syria" and that it is a liability to al-Sharaa in his quest to legitimize his rule and secure international support.

By monitoring religious sites and providing them with protection, al-Sharaa's forces intend to keep them out of the hands of ISIS sleeper cells and other armed groups, security officer Ahmed al-Yahya told Al-Fassel.

This includes "some groups that previously allied with Tahrir al-Sham," he said, including some who have "contact with some ISIS cells."

Al-Sharaa, who founded and led al-Qaeda's former Syrian affiliate, al-Nusra Front, publicly broke ties with al-Qaeda in 2016, merging his group into the new Tahrir al-Sham alliance in 2017.

He had previously pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in order to break with ISIS and its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Since breaking ties with al-Qaeda, al-Sharaa has sought to portray himself as a more moderate leader, and his group has toned down its rhetoric, AFP reported.

The group's recent pointed and public efforts to protect minorities, including Shia and Christians, come as it attempts to rebrand itself yet again.

But al-Sharaa has yet to calm misgivings among some analysts and governments that still class Tahrir al-Sham as a terrorist organization.

'Developments in Syria'

On January 29, Tahrir al-Sham announced its dissolution, along with the dissolution of other armed factions operating in Syria.

A day earlier, Syria's al-Qaeda affiliate Hurras al-Deen announced its dissolution, noting that the move followed a decision from "the general command of al-Qaeda."

Hurras al-Deen said the decision came "in light of developments" in Syria, after Tahrir al-Sham had said it wanted all armed groups in the country to disband.

The statement was the first time Hurras al-Deen, which is on Washington's terror list, had officially identified itself as "the branch of al-Qaeda" in Syria.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Hurras al-Deen "announced its dissolution so as not to enter into armed conflict with Tahrir al-Sham."

On January 30, the US military killed Muhammad Salah al-Zabir, "a senior operative in the terrorist organization Hurras al-Deen," in a precision air strike in northwestern Syria, US Central Command said.