[10] The group later became independent, because al-Nusra was growing too rapidly for its resources and had suffered from fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
They originally called themselves Sarayat al-Quds, which was a brigade operating under the al-Nusra Front, and drew inspiration from numerous Salafi-Jihadist scholars.
[34] On 7 January 2014, it was confirmed that 34 foreign ISIL and Jund al-Aqsa fighters had been executed in the previous few days by rebels in the Jabal Zawiya area.
[47][better source needed] In October 2016, clashes between Jund al-Aqsa and Ahrar al-Sham escalated throughout the Idlib Governorate, with both sides expelling each other from several towns and villages.
[48][better source needed] During the clashes 800 other rebels reportedly defected to Jund al-Aqsa, increasing the group's strength up to 1,600 fighters.
[49][better source needed] The next day, the al-Nusra Front raided houses throughout Idlib and captured 16 FIA fighters from the Mountain Hawks Brigade.
The leaders of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (JFS) and Jund al-Aqsa signed their names in a text agreement to pledge their allegiance.
[56] Within the past three years, the group has assisted al-Qaeda in toppling the Syrian Revolutionaries Front and the Hazzm Movement, two key Western-backed rebel organizations in Syria, as well as weaken a third called Division 13.
[62] By 9 February, Jund al-Aqsa had captured 17 towns and villages from the Free Syrian Army and Tahrir al-Sham, in the northern Hama Province.
[64] It was rumored that Liwa al-Aqsa pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, sparking the clashes with Tahrir al-Sham, known as a staunch ISIL opponent.
[72] On 22 February 2017, the last of Liwa al-Aqsa's 2,100 militants left their final positions in Khan Shaykhun to join ISIL in the Ar-Raqqah Province after a negotiated withdrawal deal with Tahrir al-Sham and the Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria.
[15][7] Afterward, Tahrir al-Sham declared terminating Liwa al-Aqsa, and promised to watch for any remaining cells in northwestern Syria.
[73] On 23 February, the relatives of FSA prisoners executed by Liwa al-Aqsa accused the group of treating them worse than the Syrian regime ever did.
[74] In March 2018, remnants of Jund al-Aqsa in Sarmin, led by Abu Diab al-Sarmini, regrouped under the name of Ansar al-Tawhid.
[20] It would later go on to form the al-Qaeda-affiliated Alliance to Support Islam, which included the Guardians of Religion Organization, joined by other hardline members of Tahrir al-Sham and other groups.
[citation needed] On 23 March, suspected Jund al-Aqsa-linked gunmen attacked the headquarters of the Sham Legion in Idlib.
[75] In 2014, it was reported that the group was receiving continuous funding from wealthy private Gulf donors for their refusal to attack ISIL, part of which was the reason for their rift with al-Nusra Front and Ahrar al-Sham.
His real name is Muhammed Yusuf Uthman Abd al Salam, and he was reportedly a longtime al-Qaeda associate.
He also fought against the Russian forces in Chechnya, and shortly after helped Abu Musab al-Zarqawi found Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, which is known to be the precursor to Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI).
[86] This group drew inspiration from a U.S. and UN sanctioned terrorism financier and Kuwaiti cleric, Hamid bin Hammad al Ali.
According to Syrian opposition sources, the group is run by several individuals, one of which is Abu Ahmed al Qatari, who is the son of Abdul Aziz.
He holds direct links with wealthy and ideologically extremist Qatari and Kuwaiti businessmen, who finance terrorist groups via charity fronts.