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So Be Steadfast Operations Room
Arabic: Fathbito
Dates of operation	12 June 2020 –?
Group(s)	Hurras al-Din Ansar al-Din Front Jihad Coordination al-Muqatileen al-Ansar Brigade
Active regions	Idlib Governorate, Syria Latakia Governorate, Syria
Ideology	Salafi jihadism
Opponents	Syrian Arab Armed Forces  Iran Hezbollah
Battles and wars	Syrian civil war Idlib Governorate clashes (June 2020) Northwestern Syria clashes (December 2022 – November 2024)
Preceded by Rouse the Believers Operations Room

The So Be Steadfast Operations Room (Arabic: Fathbito) (also commonly translated as Be Steadfast) is a coalition of Salafist jihadist insurgent groups in Idlib Governorate, Syria during the Syrian civil war.

Composition

The coalition includes Hurras al-Din, Ansar al-Din Front, Jihad Coordination and the al-Muqatileen al-Ansar Brigade.

Ansar al-Islam left the operations room in 2021.

History

Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) arrested Abu Salah al-Uzbeki, the founder of Katibat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, who had defected from HTS and joined Ansar al-Din, on 17 June 2020, while Abu Malik al-Tali, another defector from HTS, was arrested on 22 June. So Be Steadfast called for their release and fighting broke out that same day. Infighting between the two factions spread to various towns, including "‘Arab Sa’id, al-Hamamah, al-Ya’qubiyah, Jdaydah, Armanaz, Kuku, and Shaykh Bahar."

The alliance briefly took over Idlib Central Prison in Arab Said. An agreement was signed following the fighting in which Hurras al-Din could not establish checkpoints and needed permission from the Al-Fatah al-Mubin operations room before launching attacks. al-Uzbeki was released by HTS in March 2021, while al-Tali was also released that year.

References

1. Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi (12 June 2020). "New Jihadist Operations Room in Northwest Syria: 'So Be Steadfast'". Archived from the original on 21 December 2020. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
2. "Jihadists in Syria's Idlib Form New 'Operations Room'". Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
3. Harun al-Aswad (27 June 2020). "Civil war within civil war: HTS battles rival militants, defectors in Syria's Idlib". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
4. ^ Will Christou; Walid Al Nofal (25 June 2020). "Infighting between extremist opposition groups reveals tension with HTS rule in Idlib". Syria Direct. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
5. ^ Sirwan Kajjo (15 June 2020). "Jihadists in Syria's Idlib Form New 'Operations Room'". Voice of America. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
6. "Jamaat Ansar al-Islam (JAI)". Counter Extremism. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
7. "Striving for Hegemony: The HTS Crackdown on al-Qaida and Friends in Northwest Syria". Jihadica. 15 September 2020. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
8. Aaron Y. Zelin (9 September 2020). "Living Long Enough to See Yourself Become the Villain: The Case of Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi". The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
9. Ali Darwish (19 February 2021). "Video wars: Jihadist groups in Syria waging media battles against each other". Enab Baladi. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
10. Aya Ezz (22 March 2021). "Abu Saleh al-Uzbeki: Terrorist who turned against Tahrir al-Sham". The Portal Center. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
11. Ali Darwish (30 September 2021). "Conflicts of interest prevent HTS top leaders' assassination". Enab Baladi. Retrieved 25 December 2024.

• Anti-government factions of the Syrian civil war
• 2020 establishments in Syria
• Jihadist groups in Syria
• Operations rooms of the Syrian civil war
• Salafi Jihadist groups