The small jihadist group "Khuras ad-Din" - a Syrian branch of "Al-Qaeda" - announced in a statement published online today that it was disbanding and explained that it had made the decision after the fall of Bashar Assad's regime, Agence France-Presse reported, quoted by BTA.
The group, which is listed on the US list of terrorist organizations, said that its dissolution was "by decision of the "Al-Qaeda" high command" in connection with the development of the situation in Syria.
A coalition of rebel groups led by the radical Islamist movement "Hayat Tahrir al-Sham" (HTS) seized power in Damascus after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad on December 8.
The new Syrian government has announced its intention to disarm the armed groups.
"Khuras ad-Din", which includes foreign jihadists, was based in the mountainous regions of northwestern Syria – an area considered a rebel stronghold before they took Damascus.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the group "announced its dissolution to avoid entering into armed conflict with HTS."
According to the SITE intelligence organization, which monitors Islamist websites, "Khuras ad-Din" was founded in February 2018, nearly two years after the "Jabhat al-Nusra", from which HTS emerged, split from "Al-Qaeda".
The group is on the US list of terrorist organizations, and the US Treasury Department has announced a reward for the capture of its leaders.
In August last year, US forces announced that they had shot and killed a senior member of the group, Abu Abdul Rahman al-Makki, after accusing him of "being responsible for terrorist operations in Syria".