The report is part of Clingendael’s Levant research programme that analyses hybrid security organisations – armed groups that simultaneously compete and cooperate with the state – in Syria and Iraq in the context of Iranian, Turkish and Saudi foreign policy. More about this research programme, including its publications to date, can be found here: link.

The present report is based on analysis of open online sources in both English and Turkish, including media reporting, analyses produced by think tanks and academic writings.

Its authors are grateful to Dick Zandee and Ana Uzelac (both with the Clingendael Institute) for their review, and for the critical comments that were generously provided by an external reviewer who preferred to remain anonymous.

The contents of the report are naturally the responsibility of its authors.