Joint U.S.-Turkish Designation of Syrian Jihadist Leader Raises Concerns and Implications

In a significant move, the United States and Turkey have jointly designated Abu Ahmed Zakour, also known as Omar Alsheak or Jihad Isa al-Sheikh, as a senior leader of the Syrian jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). This joint action reflects the growing dissatisfaction of both countries with HTS’s incursion into areas controlled by the Syrian National Army (SNA), a Turkish proxy militia. Abu Ahmed Zakour has played a crucial role as an HTS liaison to these areas.

The designation carries both positive and negative implications for HTS regarding sanctions. On the one hand, it marks the first acknowledgment by a U.S. government document that HTS broke ties with al-Qaeda several years ago, contrary to previous designations and reports. On the other hand, it is the first U.S. designation of an HTS official since July 2021, indicating that HTS leader Abu Muhammad al-Jawlani’s pleas for delisting have not gained traction in Washington.

Abu Ahmed Zakour’s Background and Significance

Abu Ahmed Zakour’s involvement in the jihadist movement and HTS can be pieced together from his own biography and that of anti-HTS ideologue Muzamjir al-Sham. Born and raised in al-Nayrab southeast of Aleppo city, Zakour hails from a strict tribal environment, with his father being a prominent figure in the city and the Baggara tribe.

His journey into the jihadist movement began with religious lessons from Mahmoud Qul Aghassi (Abu Qaqa), who, unbeknownst to Zakour, was an intelligence asset used by the Syrian regime to recruit fighters for Iraq after the 2003 U.S. invasion. Zakour later discovered Abu Qaqa’s true background and exposed him. Notably, Abu Qaqa was killed in 2007 by operatives from the Islamic State of Iraq.

While many Aleppo youths joined various jihadist groups, Zakour’s role was to coordinate accommodations and support for fighters passing through Syria en route to Iraq. He leveraged his tribal connections, farms, and family vehicles for this purpose. Following the arrest of his uncle Zakaria Afash by the Assad regime, Zakour collaborated with Umar Khattab. Khattab’s death in a clash with regime forces suggested that he likely worked on logistics for the southern route into Iraq, while Zakour managed the northern route.

Zakour was later ambushed and arrested in Aleppo, subsequently spending time in various facilities before being transferred to Sednaya Prison in 2004. During his imprisonment, he assumed two significant roles—head of the prison’s al-Qaeda youth faction and a military official during the 2008 prison insurgency, which lasted over eight months and resulted in the death of his uncle.

Following his release from prison in 2012, orchestrated by the Assad regime to radicalize the anti-regime insurgency, Zakour became involved with Jabhat al-Nusra (JN), the precursor to HTS. He held positions of authority within JN and played a role in encouraging JN leader Jawlani to reject Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s attempts to consolidate Syrian jihadists under the banner of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). Zakour advocated pledging allegiance to al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri instead. He also had ties to the “Khorasan Group,” an external operations cell primarily loyal to al-Qaeda central.