Al-Nusra Front or Jabhat al-Nusra is a branch of al-Qaeda operating in Syria and Lebanon. It is headed by Abu Mohammad al-Julani. This group is generally made up of native Syrian mujahedeen who adhere to Sunni Islam. Their significance lies in being the strongest supporter of Syrian rebels fighting the regime of Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian Civil War. The group has been designated as a terrorist organization by the UN, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Turkey. One of its main opponents is, however, the Islamic State. Members of the group are accused of attacking the religious beliefs of non-Sunnis in Syria, including the Alawis.

AIM

The al-Nusra Front aims to overthrow the Assad government and replace it with a Sunni Islamic state. Although the group is affiliated with al-Qaeda, it does not emphasize Western targets or global jihad and only focus on the "near enemy" of the Syrian state.                                                    

Al-Nusra believes that the fight against the Syrian regime is supported by religion and it is meant to fulfill 'God's wish' for an 'Islamic caliphate'.

MODE OF OPERATION

To achieve these objectives, Al-Nusra uses improvised explosive device, sniper and small-arms attacks, as well as kidnapping and executions, against regime security and military targets. Al-Nusra also attacks individuals and groups who are supporting the regime and has targeted urban areas, resulting in indiscriminate civilian deaths.

Al-Nusra has its own media outlet, al-Manara al-Bayda (the White Minaret), which is used to make documentary propaganda videos, often featuring car bombs and interviews with suicide bombers. Al-Nusra has issued more than 200 media statements through the White Minaret and most of these statements have been in the form of claims of responsibility for attacks.

HIERARCHY

Al-Nusra contains a hierarchy of religious bodies, with a small Majlis-a-Shura (Consultative Council) at the top, making national decisions on behalf of the group. Religious personnel also play an important role in the regional leadership, with each region having a commander and a sheikh. The sheikh supervises the commander from a religious perspective and is known as dabet al-shar'i (religious commissioner