[16][17] The Institute for the Study of War described Jaish al-Fatah as an "anti-regime" and "anti-Hezbollah" powerbroker operating in the Idlib, Hama, Daraa and Quneitra Governorates.

[18] Jaish al-Fatah was described by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change as an "al-Qaeda led coalition" which was working towards the ultimate goal of creating an "Islamic state.

[23] The coalition's initial success was attributed to its strong coherence, with the name of individual factions being forbidden when the group conducts joint operations.

[1] As columnist David Ignatius reported, Qatar, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia were the primary sponsors of the new coalition that was led by al-Nusra.

[26][27] In general, over the past years Qatar's support for the al-Nusra front had remained constant in spite of the group's rebranding operation and several strategic alliances and mergers.

[26][28][29][30] In fact, Qatar's sponsorship for the al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria was in line with Doha's strategy to expand its regional influence by investing on the increasing role of key actors – including extremist and terrorist entities – in a number of international arenas.

In July 2016, the al-Nusra Front renamed itself as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, restructured the group further, and began to create propaganda to support their offensives across the Aleppo Governorate.

On 23 October 2015, Jund al-Aqsa announced a split from Jaysh al-Fatah,[47] reportedly due to disagreements with Ahrar al-Sham over the application of Islamic law in areas under their control.

[49] In January 2016, the Sham Legion announced it was leaving the group, ostensibly to redeploy its forces to Aleppo, but also due to tensions with Jund al-Aqsa.