Fatah al - Islam Fatah al - Islam , ( Arabic : فتح الإسلام , English : Conquest of Islam ) is a radical Sunni Islamist group that formed in November 2006 in a Palestinian refugee camp , located in Lebanon . It has been described as a militant jihadist movement that draws inspiration from al - Qaeda . It became very well known in May 2007 and June 2007 after engaging in combat against the Lebanese Army in the Nahr al - Bared UNRWA Palestinian refugee camp . The United States Department of State classified the group as a terrorist organization on August 9 , 2007 but it was not classified as such anymore on November 24 , 2010 . Origins . Fatah al - Islam was led by a fugitive militant named Shaker al - Abssi , a Palestinian refugee who was born in Jericho in 1955 . Al - Abssi was once a pilot with the rank of colonel . Al - Abssi ' s first militant activities can be traced to connections he established with a secular Palestinian militant group named Fatah al - Intifada in Libya , after it defected from the umbrella Fateh movement in 1983 . From Libya , al - Abssi reportedly moved to Damascus , where he made close ties with Fatah al - Intifada ' s number two in command , Abu Khaled al - Omla . Syrian authorities arrested al - Abssi in 2000 and sentenced him to three years in prison on charges of smuggling weapons and ammunition between Jordan and Syria . The government later released him . He went to Iraq following the U . S . - led invasion in 2003 and fought alongside groups affiliated with Al - Qaeda . He is said to have become friends with a number of Al - Qaeda leaders there . In 2004 Al - Abssi was sentenced to death in absentia by a Jordanian military court for involvement in the assassination of U . S . diplomat Laurence Foley , after Syrian authorities refused to extradite him for trial . Abu Musab al - Zarqawi was also sentenced to death for the killing of Foley and was thought to have been an associate of Al - Abssi . He briefly returned to Syria , where he met again with al - Omla , who helped him relocate to Lebanon . Al - Abssi and a group of youth he met in Iraq set themselves up in the headquarters of Fatah Al - Intifada in the village of Helwa in the Western Beqaa District in 2005 . In May 2006 , Al - Abssi and this small group engaged in armed clashes with Lebanese soldiers that led to the killing of one young Syrian wanted by Damascus for fighting in Iraq . Syrian intelligence services then summoned al - Omla to ask him about al - Abssi and his group . The investigation unmasked the close coordination between al - Omla and al - Abssi that had been kept from the pro - Damascus Secretary General of Fatah Al - Intifada , Abu Moussa , and by extension , from the Syrian authorities . Al - Omla then reportedly ordered al - Abssi to leave the Western Beqaa , which is close to the borders with Syria , and head for refugee camps in northern Lebanon . In November 2006 the Palestinian security committee in Al - Badawi refugee camp in Tripoli handed over two members of al - Abssi ' s group to Lebanese military intelligence . Al - Abssi was reportedly infuriated and decided to break with Fatah al - Intifada and establish his own group , Fatah al - Islam . In November 2006 Fatah al - Islam set up a headquarters in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al - Bared in northern Lebanon . The group seized three compounds in the camp that had belonged to the secular Palestinian militant group , Fatah al - Intifada . Al - Abssi then issued a declaration saying he was bringing religion back to the Palestinian cause . In March 2007 Seymour Hersh , investigative reporter for " New Yorker magazine " , suggested that the Lebanese government was giving support to Fatah al - Islam , in order to defeat Hezbollah . David Welch , Assistant to Secretary of State , negotiated with the Saudis and Saad Hariri of the American - backed Siniora government to funnel aid to Fatah al - Islam , so that the Sunni group could eventually attack Shiite Hezbollah . But Michael Young , a writer for " Reason " magazine , cast doubts on Seymour Hersh ' s claims . Additionally , Professor Barry Rubin , Director of the Global Research in International Affairs Center , has alleged that Al - Abssi is in fact a Syrian operative engaged in destabilizing the government of Lebanon . In November 2008 , Hussain Abdul - Hussain , a Washington journalist , questioned Hersh ' s credibility arguing that the American journalist had frequently assigned dates for an American attack on Iran , which never took place . In past stories , Hersh published information that he later corrected . In an article published in NOW Lebanon , Abdul - Hussain also questioned Hersh ' s links to known Syrian proteges in Lebanon , such as former Information Minister Michel Samaha . Other indications that Fatah al - Islam , and specifically Fatah Al - Islam leader Shaker Al - Abssi , may have Syrian support come from Samir Geagea , executive body chairman of the Lebanese Forces , who asked why if anyone is found out to be a Muslim Brotherhood activist , he receives a death sentence , and if he is very lucky , he gets hard labor . So how come Shaker Al - ' Absi - who is no ordinary militant but a leader . . . and who committed a crime in Jordan and was sentenced to death there , and was arrested in Syria - has been released [ from prison ] ? Membership . The official spokesman for Fatah al - Islam is Abu Salim Taha . Fatah al - Islam supposedly has more than 150 armed fighters in the Nahr el - Bared camp . The group allegedly has about more than half a dozen Palestinian members . The bulk of its membership is said to made up of Syrians , Saudis , and other Arab Jihadists who had fought in Iraq , as well as approximately 50 Lebanese extremist Sunnis . The Syrian ambassador said the leaders of the group were mostly Palestinians , Jordanians , or Saudis , and that perhaps a " couple of them " were Syrians . The pro - Saudi " Al Hayat " newspaper reports that Fatah al - Islam has close ties to Syria , and that much of the leadership of Fatah al - Islam is made up of Syrian officers . Ideology . According to Reuters , Fatah al - Islam ' s primary goals are to institute Islamic law in Palestinian refugee camps and to target Israel . Several news organizations have suggested that Fatah al - Islam has connections to al - Qaeda . Some reports even claim Fatah al - Islam is part of the al - Qaeda network . Abssi has stated that the group has no organization ties to al - Qaeda , " but agrees with its aim of fighting infidels . " Fatah al - Islam statements have appeared on Islamist Web sites known to publish al - Qaeda statements . Syria ' s ambassador Bashar Ja ' afari , responding to Lebanese claims that Syria is a sponsor of Fatah al - Islam , told Reuters that several of the organization ' s members had been jailed for three or four years in Syria for connections to al - Qaeda , and that upon their release they had left the country . Ja ' afari also said that , " If they come to Syria , they will be jailed , " and that , " They are not fighting on behalf of the Palestinian cause . They are fighting on behalf of al Qaeda . " . On May 23 , 2007 the Arab League issued a statement " strongly condemn [ ing ] the criminal and terrorist acts carried out by the terrorist group known as Fatah al - Islam , " adding that the group has " no relation to the Palestinian question or Islam . " In an interview on CNN International ' s " Your World Today , " Seymour Hersh said that according to an agreement between the United States Vice President Dick Cheney , Deputy National Security Advisor Elliot Abrams , Saudi National Security Adviser Prince Bandar bin Sultan , covert funding for the Sunni Fatah al - Islam would be provided by the Saudi regime to counterweight the influence of the Shiite Hezbollah . Hersh said , " This was a covert operation that [ Prince ] Bandar ran with us . " He also said that when he was in Beirut he " talked to officials who acknowledged the reason they were tolerating the radical jihadist groups was because they were seen as a protection against Hezbollah . " Hezbollah released a statement saying , " We feel that there is someone out there who wants to drag the [ Lebanese ] army to this confrontation and bloody struggle . . . to serve well - known projects and aims , " and it called for a political solution to the crisis . Activities . German train bombings . The fourth - highest - ranking member of Fatah al - Islam , Saddam el - Hajdib , and his brother Khaled Khair - Eddin el - Hajdib , were among the suspects behind failed bombings on German commuter trains on July 31 , 2006 . The bombs did not explode due to faulty mechanisms . Saddam el - Hajdib was killed by the Lebanese army in the 2007 conflict between Fatah al - Islam and the Lebanese army . Plot to assassinate anti - Syrian Lebanese officials . On December 7 , 2006 " Le Monde " reported that a top UN official had been informed by the Palestine Liberation Organization ( PLO ) representative in Lebanon , Abbas Zaki , of a plot by Fatah al - Islam to assassinate 36 anti - Syrian figures in Lebanon . PLO security agents later confronted the group , arresting six of them . Four were later released while a Syrian and a Saudi Arabian were handed over to the Lebanese military . Lebanese authorities have accused the organization of being involved in the February 13 , 2007 bombing of two minibuses that killed three people , and injured more than 20 others , in Ain Alaq , Lebanon , and identified four of its members as having confessed to the bombing . They have also stated that the group is a front for Syrian intelligence in Lebanon . Both Fatah al - Islam and the Syrian government denied the collaboration charges . Conflict with the Lebanese army . On May 19 , 2007 a police search was mounted for suspects in a bank robbery a day earlier in Amyoun , a town southeast of Tripoli . Gunmen made off with $ 125 , 000 in cash in the robbery . According to Ashraf Rifi , the Lebanese Internal Security Forces chief , the bank robbers were traced to an apartment in Tripoli which turned out to be an office for Fatah al - Islam . The armed militants at the office resisted arrest and a gunbattle ensued . A three - day standoff between security forces and militants at the apartment ended on 23 May , after the last Fatah al - Islam militant at that location blew himself up . Robert Fisk reported that while some of the group that had robbed the bank were cornered in the apartment block , others had holed up in the Nahr el - Bared camp north of the city . Under a 1969 Arab accord , the Lebanese army may not enter the Palestinian refugee camps . The militants seized Lebanese army positions at the entrance to the Nahr al - Bared camp , capturing two armored personnel carriers . Security officials also reported that the gunmen had opened fire on roads leading out of the camp to Tripoli , and ambushed a military unit , killing two soldiers . The attacks by Fatah al - Islam killed at least 27 Lebanese soldiers , 15 Fatah al - Islam militants and 15 civilians , injuring another 27 Lebanese soldiers and over 40 civilians . Lebanese forces fired artillery barrages against militants in the camp . In response , the Lebanese army brought in reinforcements and on May 20 began a steady barrage of artillery and heavy machine gun fire in an attempt to hit militant positions that Fatah al - Islam had occupied inside the Nahr al - Bared camp . On May 20 , a spokesperson for Fatah made an official statement to the WAFA Palestine News Agency affirming that the " so called Fatah al - Islam " is neither part of , nor linked to , the Fatah organization or the Palestine Liberation Organization ( PLO ) . He further mentioned that this group had launched several attacks against Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and called upon Palestinian refugees to " isolate this emerging group " . The PLO representative in Lebanon , Abbas Zaki also met with official bodies in Lebanon to officially inform them that the group is made up of " extremists " and is not linked with Palestinian agenda . On May 21 , Zaki and other PLO officials attempted to negotiate a ceasefire to alleviate the humanitarian suffering in the camp . While the Lebanese army had been sending tank and mortar fire into the camp in pursuit of Fatah al - Islam , some 30 , 000 civilians were trapped inside , and conditions had rapidly worsened . A handful of the wounded were taken out but it was impossible to get outside help to many others . At least 8 refugees were killed and 60 others wounded . Palestinian civilians from the refugee camp were finally able to flee the fighting after Fatah al - Islam declared a unilateral truce on May 22 , and the exodus continued on May 23 . Fatah al - Islam is still inside the camp , and says that if it is attacked , it will fight to the death . An al Qaeda military official warned the Lebanese government to stop attacks on the Fatah al - Islam cell , or else “ we will tear out your hearts with traps and surround your places with explosive canisters , and target all your businesses , beginning with tourism and ending with other rotten industries . . . We warn you for the last time , and after it there will only be rivers of blood . ” On the June 16 , 2007 , 68 Lebanese soldiers , 50 Fatah al - Islam supporters and 32 civilian Palestinians had been killed in the fighting according to Dailystar newspaper . On Sunday , September 2 , 2007 , the Lebanese Army took control of the Nahr el - Bared camp , after three months of fighting . Thirty - nine Fatah al - Islam members were killed while attempting a mass pre - dawn break - out from the camp . At least three Lebanese soldiers also died in Sunday ' s fighting , taking the number of troops killed in 3 months to 158 . At least 222 militants and a number of civilians were also killed in the same period . One day after the Lebanese Army victory unidentified fighters apparently clashed with security forces wounding two . On Monday , September 10 , 2007 it was announced that DNA tests on a body thought to be the group ' s leader Shaker al - Abssi had turned out negative . Lebanese officials now say that he probably fled the fighting in the camp before the army took control . On Wednesday , December 12 , 2007 , Lebanese Army Major General Francois el - Hajj and his bodyguard were killed in a car bombing attack in Baabda . Several suspects have since been apprehended and investigated , and investigation suggests Fatah al - Islam involvement . On Wednesday , January 9 , 2008 , Fatah al - Islam chief Shaker al - Abssi made a public speech in Lebanon , acknowledging his escape and vowing for revenge against the Lebanese army after the group ' s defeat in the 2007 Lebanon conflict . Emirate plot . According to Lebanese and Palestinian sources , Fatah al - Islam had planned to revolt and establish an emirate in the area of Tripoli with the help of al - Qaeda members who had fled Iraq . This operation was dubbed " Operation 755 " . According to Lebanese sources , the plot was uncovered and foiled . Lebanese security forces had found CDs with detailed plans for this plot . Abu - Salim Taha , spokesperson for the Fatah al - Islam denied these charges . Criminal charges . On June 21 , 2007 , Lebanese State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza filed criminal charges against 16 Fatah al - Islam members accused of carrying out the February 13 , 2007 Lebanon bombings against two civilian buses that killed two people and injured 21 others . Those attacks took place in Ain Alaq , a Lebanese mountain village . Nine of the 16 suspects accused were in custody when the charges were filed ; other , including Fatah al - Islam head Shaker al - Abssi and the group ' s reputed military commander Shehab Abu Qadour " a / k / a " Abu Hureira before his death were still being sought . The defendants include ten Syrians , two Lebanese , three Palestinians ( including one woman ) and a Saudi national . Damascus bombing . Syria has alleged that Fatah al - Islam was behind the September 27 , 2008 car bombing in Damascus , which left 17 dead . Syrian TV aired confessions of 10 people , including Shaker al - Abssi ' s daughter , who said they carried out the attack . Death of Abd - al - Rahman Awad . Abd - al - Rahman Awad and an associate were intercepted on a main road in eastern Lebanon and died in an exchange of fire with security forces . Abd - al - Rahman Awad was already high on the Lebanese wanted list . He had been condemned to death in absentia on charges relating to a number of bomb attacks and killings over the past three years . According to Lebanese security officials , he had recently been hiding in the big Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al - Hilweh near Sidon in the south . He was traveling with two companions on the main road to Syria when he was ambushed by security forces in the town of Chtaura in east Lebanon . Mr Awad and one of his associates named Abu Bakr Abdullah were killed in a hail of gunfire . The third man escaped . On August 18 , 2010 the group says its leader and a top commander were heading to Iraq to join insurgents there when Lebanese security troops killed them over the weekend , according to a U . S . terror - monitoring firm . The Washington - based SITE Intelligence Group , which tracks militant postings on the Internet , said Wednesday that a statement on jihadist forums from the Fatah Islam group confirmed the deaths of the two . The statement also said that they were going to Iraq to join the Islamic State of Iraq . On August 19 , 2010 Hundreds of mourners in a south Lebanon camp on Thursday laid to rest Fatah al - Islam head Abdel Rahman Awad . The open - casket funeral of Awad , dubbed the " prince " of Fatah al - Islam and formerly one of Lebanon ' s most wanted Islamists , was held at Ain al - Hilweh and attended by his family , representatives of Islamist factions and members of the Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas ' s Fatah movement . Awad , who had been hiding in Ain al - Hilweh for more than a year , opened fire at troops along with his comrade and the soldiers responded , killing the pair , the army said . Abu Bakr was rumoured to have provided military training to members of Fatah al - Islam . His funeral was expected later on Thursday . Syrian Civil War . The new leadership of Fatah al - Islam has given enthusiastic support to the Syrian uprising . Beginning in the spring of 2012 , Fatah al - Islam has reported a small number of attacks in Syria , but its leadership has been decimated in recent months . In April 2012 , one of the leaders of the group , Abdel Ghani Jawhar , was killed in the city of Al - Qusair , Syria after accidentally blowing himself up while making a bomb . The chief of its military wing ( the Caliphate Brigades ) , Nidal al - Asha , was killed in Aleppo in July 2012 , and the group ' s emir , Abdelaziz al - Kourakli ( Abu Hussam al - Shami ) , died in an ambush on the Deraa - Damascus road in September 2012 . In October 2012 , another founding member and former chief organizer in North Lebanon , Abu Qaswara al - Qurashi , was killed in a gun battle in Homs .