U.S.-Sanctioned Militant Leader Appointed Head of Syrian Army Division
Among the most serious U.S. accusations is the faction’s role in the assassination of Kurdish politician Hevrin Khalaf and several of her companions in October 2019.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – The Syrian Ministry of Defense has appointed Ahmad al-Hayes, widely known by his nom de guerre Abu Hatim Shaqra and the one sanctioned by the United States since 2021, as commander of Division 86 operating across Deir ez-Zor, Hasakah, and Raqqa, sources confirmed on Monday.
The appointment, which has not been officially announced by the ministry, places a controversial figure at the helm of military operations in a volatile stretch of northeastern Syria (Western Kurdistan).
Tarnished Record and U.S. Sanctions
Shaqra’s ascent within military ranks comes despite longstanding allegations of war crimes and direct links to extremist elements. In July 2021, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Ahrar al-Sharqiya, citing its involvement in extrajudicial killings and egregious human rights violations.
Among the most serious accusations is the faction’s role in the assassination of Kurdish politician Hevrin Khalaf and several of her companions in October 2019. The U.S. further accused the group of operating a secret detention facility near Aleppo under Shaqra’s supervision, where detainees were reportedly subjected to torture and executions dating back to 2018.
The group’s alleged connections to the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) were also underscored in the sanction’s announcement, which named al-Shaqra as a central figure in facilitating abuses and maintaining extremist ties.
Militant Roots in Syria
Shaqra previously served as the head of Harakat al-Tahrir wal-Binaa (Liberation and Construction Movement), the core formation within the Turkish-backed First Corps of the Syrian National Army (SNA). He assumed this role in January 2024, succeeding Colonel Hussein al-Hammadi.
The movement was established in February 2022 through the merger of four prominent armed factions from eastern Syria: Ahrar al-Sharqiya, Jaysh al-Sharqiya, Division 20, and Suqour al-Sham – Northern Sector. Its fighters, primarily drawn from the al-Shaitat and al-Qaran tribes of Deir ez-Zor, numbered over 2,500 at the time of the merger.
He founded Ahrar al-Sharqiya on Jan. 22, 2016, near Azaz and Afrin in northwest Syria. The group was formed by uniting several local battalions and brigades, including Fursan al-Sharqiya, al-Ahwaz, Dir’ al-Hasakah, al-Khattab, and al-Nahrawan. It quickly emerged as a significant actor among opposition forces in Syria’s north.
