[7] The group rapidly expanded in size and prominence in 2012,[7] before suffering internal splits and battlefield reversals in 2013 that greatly reduced its influence.

[9] The rebel group were named Farouq after Omar bin al-Khattab, a Sahaba (companion) of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad and the second Caliph.

[citation needed] Farouq has their own public relations wing which film their battlefield operations and upload them to YouTube and Facebook with their groups logo.

[14] In April 2012, the Farouq Brigades was accused of collecting jizyah, or taxes imposed on non-Muslims living under Muslim rule, in Christian areas of Homs province.

[16][17] However, Jesuits in Homs disputed the cause of the exodus, and said that Christians were not targeted specifically, but fled the city on their own initiative because of the ongoing conflict.

[citation needed] In August 2012, Lieutenant Abdul Razzaq Tlass, one of the Farouq Brigades top leaders, was implicated in a sex scandal when video was posted to YouTube appearing to show him having cybersex with a woman through Skype.

[2] In September 2012, the northern branch of the Farouq Brigades was accused of kidnapping and killing Abu Mohamad al-Absi, a Syrian Jihadist who led a group of foreign fighters.

[7] In May 2013, a video was posted on the internet showing rebel commander Abu Sakkar cutting organs from the dead body of a Syrian soldier and putting one of them in his mouth, "as if he is taking a bite out of it".

[4] Human Rights Watch said "It is not known whether the Independent Omar al-Farouq Brigade operates within the command structure of the Free Syrian Army".

[25] In November 2016 in Tyrol, Austria, a former fighter of the Farouq Brigades was prosecuted for the summary execution of 20 wounded Syrian Army soldiers while in Homs between 2013 and 2014.