Sayf Bulad

Sayf Bulad
Sayf Bulad
	Sayf Bulad in 2013
Nickname(s)	"The Turkmen commander"
Born	c. 1988 (age 36–37); Bizaah, Aleppo Governorate, Syria
Allegiance	Ba'athist Syria (until 2012); Syrian opposition (from 2012); Islamic State (2013–2014; disputed)
Branch	Syrian Air Force Air Force Intelligence Directorate; ; Free Syrian Army; Syrian National Army; Syrian Front for Liberation;
Years of service	2005–present
Rank	First Lieutenant (Air Force Intelligence Directorate); Brigadier General (Hamza Division);
Unit	Abu Bakr Sadiq Brigades; Al-Tawhid Brigade; Hazzm Movement; Hamza Division
Battles / wars	Syrian civil war Battle of Aleppo (2012–2016); Inter-rebel conflict; Operation Euphrates Shield; Operation Olive Branch; Northwestern Syria offensive (April–August 2019); ; Second Nagorno-Karabakh War;

Sayf al-Din Bulad (Arabic: سيف أبو بكر; Turkish: Seyf Polat; born 1988), better known as Sayf Bulad and also known by his nom de guerre Sayf Abu Bakr, is a Syrian military officer and former rebel leader who rose to prominence fighting for several armed opposition factions in the Syrian civil war.

Having served with the Free Syrian Army during the conflict's early stages, he reportedly joined the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in 2013, possibly as a spy for the Turkish intelligence. Bulad defected from ISIL in 2014, and consequently became the commander of the CIA-supported Hazzm Movement and later the Hamza Division.

In September 2021, he became the deputy leader of the Syrian Front for Liberation. As part of these groups, Bulad has become an important ally of Turkey within the armed Syrian opposition, and has served as the de facto military governor of al-Bab since 2017 as well.