Al Shishani reportedly has roots in the Pankisi Gorge.[1]
He traveled to Syria in 2012 and reportedly had as many as 300 in his group by the following year.[2] He was the "military strategist" of Ansar al-Sham.[3]
Ali Aswad al-Jiburi, an Iraqi ISIS militant, killed Abu Basir al-Ladhiqani, who was a member of the Free Syrian Army (FSA)'s Supreme Military Council, in the summer of 2013.[3] al-Ladhiqani was also a local leader of a rebel group in Latakia Governorate.[4]
ISIS raids on FSA bases in Latakia had started in November 2013, with deaths occurring on both sides. Al-Jiburi killed a member of Ahrar al-Sham days later, and took numerous FSA members hostage. Sayfullakh Shishani found the bodies of the five FSA members near where they were kidnapped.[5] Al Shishani and Muslim Shishani (who is reportedly his brother)[6] worked to defuse tensions between al-Jiburi and the FSA through shuttle diplomacy. Ultimately, a prisoner exchange was agreed upon.[5]
Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) sent a mediation committee in October 2021, which included members of the Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria, Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar, Ajnad al-Kavkaz and aid worker Muhammed Shakiel, to visit with Shishani and explain that he was not a target of the pending operation, which targeted Jundallah. He was reluctant to break his alliance with Jundallah, but eventually agreed to leave the area.[7] Al Shishani reportedly allied himself with Jundallah and engaged in combat with HTS.[6] He was held for eleven months by HTS and was released in September 2022.[6]