section_path: Syrian civil war/Formation of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)
section_name: Formation of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)
paragraph_text: Formation of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)
  
  After forming JFS, al-Sharaa attempted to arrange a merger with Ahrar al-Sham. However, negotiations collapsed due to al-Sharaa supporting Jund al-Aqsa —a group that he had secretly established to discourage al-Nusra's foreign fighters from defecting to ISIS—in their conflict with Ahrar al-Sham. Ahrar al-Sham's leadership were also concerned that JFS continued to maintain ties with al-Qaeda. Meanwhile, al-Sharaa came under attack from al-Qaeda. Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi wrote a critique of the manhaj of JFS, and rumours circulated that al-Qaeda was preparing to launch a new affiliate in Syria named "Taliban al-Sham".
  
  In a last-ditch bid to secure a merger, al-Sharaa led efforts to undermine Ahrar al-Sham's nationalist and anti-merger wing. When Ahrar al-Sham's leadership again refused to merge in December 2017, the pro-merge wing formed a breakaway "sub-faction" named Jaysh al-Ahrar. Shortly afterwards, JFS attacked Free Syrian Army (FSA) positions across Idlib and Aleppo, precipitating a conflict with Ahrar al-Sham. The conflict allowed JFS to defeat CIA-backed FSA groups, which it viewed as a "foreign conspiracy".
  
  On 28 January 2017, al-Sharaa announced that JFS would dissolve and merge with Liwa al-Haqq, Jaysh al-Sunna, Ansar al-Din Front and the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement to form Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), gaining approximately 3,000 to 5,000 more fighters. In an effort to demonstrate the maturity of the new group, al-Sharaa arranged for Jaysh al-Ahrar's leader Abu Jaber Sheikh to serve as the nominal leader of HTS, although leadership was formally transferred back to al-Sharaa by December 2017. The remaining al-Qaeda loyalists in JFS viewed the formation of HTS as a definitive break from the organisation and refused to join. A number of al-Qaeda veterans publicly criticised al-Sharaa for his moves; Sami al-Oraydi condemned it as insubordination against Ayman al-Zawahiri. As a result, several were arrested by HTS towards the end of 2017, including al-Oraydi. After their release, some were involved in forming Hurras al-Din, the new Syrian affiliate of al-Qaeda.
  
  The U.S. government quickly rejected this rebranding, with the U.S. Embassy in Syria stating that "The core of HTS is Nusra, a designated terrorist organisation. This designation applies regardless of what name it uses or what groups merge into it." The Embassy characterized HTS's formation as an attempt to "hijack the Syrian revolution" rather than a move toward moderation. Despite this stance, under HTS, the group prioritized combating al-Qaeda and ISIS in an effort to improve its standing with Western nations. HTS successfully defeated ISIS, al-Qaeda, and most opposing forces in its territory, establishing control over most of Idlib Governorate, which it administered through the HTS-aligned Syrian Salvation Government.