The Attack on U.S. Forces in Syria Claimed by 'Liwa al-Ghalibun': Translation and Clarification

Around a week ago, an attack on U.S. forces in Syria, which prompted U.S. airstrikes against forces affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was claimed by a group calling itself ‘Liwa al-Ghalibun.’ A Telegram channel for the group was created on 24 March and then the statement was issued the following day. I feature this statement with translation in this post.

At the same time, it is important to issue a clarification here. Some outlets (most notably North Press Agency and the Institute for the Study of War/American Enterprise Institute’s ‘Critical Threats’) have supposed or suggested this group is the same as ‘al-Ghalibun,’ a Syrian formation I wrote about some years ago. Indeed, these outlets cite my study about the group that was primarily based on the testimony of a friend who had been in the group.

I would like to make clear that this ‘Liwa al-Ghalibun’ and the ‘al-Ghalibun’ are not the same group. The latter ceased to exist as a separate formation some time ago, with members and officials having moved on to other groups or roles.