The leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Hashem al-Sheikh, said in his first video speech that has promised to escalate attacks against the Syrian army with the goal of liberating all of Syria's territory.
"We assure our people that we will begin our project by reactivating our military action against the criminal regime and we will raid his barracks and positions and wage a new battle of liberation," Reuters cited him as saying.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or Body for the Liberation of the Levant, was created from a merger of Jabhat Fateh al Sham - formerly al Qaeda's Nusra Front - and several other groups.
Sheikh said the new alliance would form "one entity" to spearhead the military and political work of the anti-Assad forces, saying international peace efforts aimed to "abort the revolution" and reward Assad for his "crimes" against Syrians.
