Jamaat Bayt al-Maqdis al-Islamiya


Jamaat Bayt al-Maqdis al-Islamiya was an active armed group in the Syrian Civil War, that has been active since at least early 2015. Initially the group was praised by many pro-ISIL circles on social media in early 2015 claiming it was ISIL expanding into the Daraa Governorate as the group used a similar banner to ISIL however the group held no links to ISIL, in an official statement the group described itself as “an Islamic group… to support the religion of God and make His word highest”, however the group also has not shown any hostilities towards ISIL like many of its allies such as the Southern Front and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. The group did not take part in fighting between other opposition groups that it is allied with against ISIL affiliates in Southern Syria but a portion of its members did defect to the ISIL affiliated groups at odds with the group's opposition allies.
In early and mid 2017 the group joined the Bunyan al-Marsous operation room and took part in several offensives in Daraa against pro-government forces. The decision to join the same operations room with other mainstream opposition groups caused further defections from the group, with many fighters either joining the ISIL-affiliated Khalid ibn al-Walid Army or simply going home.