Ahrar Al-Sham

Ahrar al-Sham Harakat Ahrar ash-Sham al-Islamiyya (Arabic: حركة أحرار الشام الإسلامية ‎ Ahrār ash-Shām, meaning "Islamic Movement of the Free Men of the Levant") A coalition of Islamist brigades that "cooperates with the Free Syrian Army and other secular rebel groups; however, it does not maintain ties with the Syrian National Council," and have "their own strict and secretive leadership, receiving the majority of their funding and support from donors in Kuwait." Ahrar al-Sham was a founding and leading member of the Syrian Islamic Front, and was a member of the Turkish-sponsored 2015 Idlib "army of conquest" along with Al-Nusra. It's active mostly in north-western Syria.

Despite its hardcore Islamist ideology and personnel overlapping with Al-Qaeda, the group is endorsed by former US ambassador to Syria Robert Ford and other voices inside NATO, especially Turkey which refuses to even pro forma brand the group as terrorist in nature.

Ahrar al-Sham is one of five core groups clearly implicated by a detailed Human Rights Watch investigation in the premeditated and blatant Latakia Masscares of over 200 Alawi civilians on August 4, 2013 - (the others are ISIS, Jabhat al-Nusra, Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar, and Suqour al-Izz). HRW found they admitted to involvement in four villages," (Isterbeh, Nabata(misspelled), Hamboushia, Abu Makka) and posted video of them breaking into homes in a fifth (Balouta). Three Moroccan fighters from Ahrar al-Sham were listed as killed in Esterbeh on August 4." The group initially held no hostages but in September was given responsibility for them all. An "opposition activist" told HRW “Abu Taha protected Alawite women from the foreigners [other fighters] who wanted to kill them.” At least six naked dead women were evidenced in Hamboushiya, as the report notes. 

On the day that report was released, October 11, 2013, Reuters reported a sort of denial from the group: "If someone uses a weapon against you, you have to fight them. If they do not, you must not kill them," and that's it. The unstated half could be that the Alawites raised the sword against them (all Sunnis) so the Alawites have to die. That vague statement was from "Ahrar al-Sham's political office in Raqqa." Raqqa was taken over by Islamists in March, 2013, and then taken by Daesh (ISIS) as their capitol in mid-August, just as this Latakia offensive was ending. So if Ahrar al-Sham had its offices there two months later, it suggests they were working with the Islamic State at that time (the Wikipedia entry doesn't mention any alliance or breaking of it, as it does with the other two).

HRW reports "In one of the videos, lieutenant colonel Hussein al-Harmoush, the brigade commander from Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Maghdad al-Aswad battalion, is identified by name and seen shooting in the operation." That's either a nickname taken in honor of an FSA Godfather, the late Lt. Col. Hussein Harmoush (external profile) or quite a coincidence.