In 2011, al-Suri co-founded Ahrar al-Sham, a Sunni Syrian Islamist group, opposing Bashar al-Assad's government forces as part of the Islamic Front.[8] Despite helping to found al-Sham and serving in its most senior ranks, al-Suri's involvement in the organization and his ties to al-Qaeda were kept secret, and he adopted a new nom de guerre: Abu Omeir al-Shami.[2] Al Suri continued to use both names separately in statements, but it was not until after his death that the two were linked as the same person.[4]