[6] In 2011, al-Suri co-founded Ahrar al-Sham, a Sunni Syrian Islamist group, opposing Bashar al-Assad's government forces as part of the Islamic Front.
Despite helping to found al-Sham and serving in its most senior ranks, al-Suri's involvement in the organization were kept secret, and he adopted a new nom de guerre: Abu Omeir al-Shami.
[11] On 23 February 2014, five men entered al-Suri's headquarter compound in Aleppo and opened fire, then one of the gunman detonated his explosive pack.
[12][13] Syrian rebels mourned al-Suri's death on social media accounts, posting his photo and praising his actions in support of jihad.
[14] Al-Qaeda published a eulogy for al-Suri written by Saif al-Adel[15] and uploaded a video of him at the al-Farouq training camp in Afghanistan, along with photos of him with Bin Laden.
[16] A rebel source was quoted saying "Sheikh Abu Khalid was an important Jihadi figure, he fought the Americans in Iraq and in Afghanistan.
[20] The leader of al-Nusra Front, al-Julani threatened to go to war with ISIL over their suspected role in the killing of Abu Khalid al-Suri.