Ashidaa was the commander of the Ashidaa Mujahideen Brigade which was first publicly noticed in 2014, with his brother Abu Ahmad al-Halabi, which was part of Ahrar al-Sham until defecting from the group in 2016 in response to Ahrar al-Sham's involvement in Operation Euphrates Shield which drew manpower away from Aleppo to other areas in northern Syria to fight ISIL and the Syrian Democratic Forces alongside the Turkish military, despite several recent loses in Aleppo to pro-government forces in the area at the time.[2] The group was based in the Sukkari area of Aleppo and has been accused of flogging individuals for not attending Friday prayers.[3]