Abdul Samrez Jashari[1] (Arabic: عبدل صمريز يشاري, Macedonian: Абдул Самрез Јашари; born 25 September 1976), also known by his nom de guerre Abu Qatada al-Albani (Arabic: أبو قتادة الألباني), is a Macedonian Albanian militant who is the leader of Xhemati Alban, an Albanian Islamist armed group allied with Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) which is active in the Syrian civil war. Prior to 2017, Jashari and Xhemati Alban were allied to HTS's predecessor the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front.[2] Following the fall of the Assad regime and the establishment of the Syrian transitional government, Jashari was promoted to the rank of colonel in the new Syrian Army.[1][3]
Jashari was designated a terrorist by the United States Treasury Department in 2016 for his affiliation with al-Nusra.[4]
- ^ a b Steve Postal (1 January 2025). "New Syria Doubles Down on Jihad". The American Spectator. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
- ^ Edwin Taylor. "Xhemati Alban: Albanian Snipers in Syria". Grey Dynamics. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
- ^ "An Albanian has received a high position in the Syrian army". Kosovo Online. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
- ^ "Sanctions List Search". Office of Foreign Assets Control. Retrieved 2 April 2025.