This combined fighting force, once known as the Euphrates Shield, is now waiting for permission from Ankara to launch a major cross-border military intervention which ultimately looks to defeat or weaken Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
Over the past 24 hours alone, HTS has expelled Ahrar al-Sham
...a Syria jihadi group made up of Islamists and salafists, not that there's that much difference, formed into a brigade. They make up the main element of the Islamic Front but they don't profess adoration of al-Qaeda and they've been fighting (mainly for survival) against the Islamic State. Their leadership was wiped out at a single blow by a suicide kaboom at a crowded basement meeting in September, 2014...
from a handful of towns across rural Idlib. The al-Qaeda affiliated HTS has also purged several
... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund...
(FSA) groups in Maarat al-Numan and Saraqib, vowing to arrest anyone collaborating with the Euphrates Shield forces.
Since a coalition of jihadist groups merged into what is now known as HTS barely six months ago, the group has gradually become the largest rebel fighting force in all of Syria, thereby dethroning Ahrar al-Sham from this long-standing position.
The
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
in 2016 and subsequently, the establishment of the so-called Jarabulus pocket in northern Aleppo where
The photo above shows a Ahrar al-Sham fighter standing at a
May they both lose: Moslem groups fighting in Idlib[AAWSAT] Beirut- The fighting that took place Tuesday between Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, commonly referred to as Tahrir al-Sham, which includes factions like Fath al-Sham (former Nusra Front) from one hand and Ahrar al-Sham, on the other hand, has reached a new level in the long-standing tense relationship between the opposing factions.
It was clear, according to experts and analysts who have been following the developments there, that it is a make or break battle between the two factions and might turn the eyes to Idlib in the coming period, especially if the Free Syrian Army (FSA) decided to join Ahrar al-Sham in an attempt to expel the Nusra Front from the governorate.
Field sources reported that Tahrir al-Sham took control of Ahrar al-Sham’s checkpoint along Hawarin-Kafr Nabal road, the town of Hazarin and another checkpoint at the Western entrance of the town of Kafruma in Southern Idlib.
The sources said that Ahrar al-Sham dispatched more forces and equipment to the town of Hazarin in Idlib’s countryside to attack the positions of Tahrir al-Sham.
Also, Tahrir al-Sham sent a large volume of military hardware to the villages of Jabal al-Zaweiyeh.
Based on the field reports Tahrir al-Sham and Ahrar al-Sham have engaged in heavy fighting in the villages of Jabal al-Zawiyeh up to the village of Haas.
The reports added that the two warring groups have gone on full alert in Bab al-Hawa passageway and Northern Idlib.
Sources close to the opposing groups disclosed that Tahrir al-Sham Commander Abu Mohammad al-Joulani was preparing for a vast war against Ahrar al-Sham, adding that al-Joulani intended to impose control over large territories that were under Ahrar al-Sham to lay siege on Saraqeb in the east, Dana and Sarmada in the northeast and Bab al-Hawa near the Turkish border.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said fighter from the two sides were engaged in clashes across the province in northwest Syria that killed 11 fighters and three civilians in the last 24 hours.
“These are the most violent and widespread clashes that have taken place between Ahrar al-Sham and Tahrir al-Sham,” Observatory director Rami Abdulrahman said.
“The clashes are ongoing across all of the provinces, with territory changing hands… It’s an existential battle,” he added.
The two groups have clashed before, despite having previously formed the backbone of the alliance that captured most of Idlib in early 2015.
The latest conflict arisen partly out of a dispute over Ahrar al-Sham’s desire to fly the flag of the Syrian uprising in Idlib city, the Observatory said.
HTS coalition loses major Islamist faction to Ahrar al-Sham
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Harakat Noor al-Din al-Zenki Islamist faction, one of biggest FSA-linked groups within the Ha’yat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) coalition, has announced their defection from the jihadist conglomerate in favor of joining Ahrar al-Sham
...a Syria jihadi group made up of Islamists and salafists, not that there's that much difference, formed into a brigade. They make up the main element of the Islamic Front but they don't profess adoration of al-Qaeda and they've been fighting (mainly for survival) against the Islamic State. Their leadership was wiped out at a single blow by a suicide kaboom at a crowded basement meeting in September, 2014...
In an official statement, the Islamist group rationalized their decision, claiming that it was unsatisfied with the HTS coalition’s aggression towards Ahrar al-Sham and the outright refusal of HTS commanders to seek common ground with Ahrar al-Sham.
The statement went on to add that despite joining ranks with Ahrar al-Sham, the Islamist group intended to stay clear of any and all infighting between Ahrar al-Sham and HTS, clarifying that the point of their existence was not to fight other rebel factions, but only the Syrian government and the forces allied to it.
In July of 2016, Noor al-Din al-Zenki became well known, even in the Western mainstream media, when some of its top members beheaded a twelve year old Paleostinian child on camera with a hunting knife. The child was falsely accused of being a member of an ethnic Paleostinian pro-government faction fighting in the city.
At that time, the group was openly vetted by the United States and
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
under the assumption that it was a "moderate" opposition faction. Its military support from the US included the provision of American-built TOW anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) systems.
In January 2017, Noor al-Din al-Zenki merged into the then newly-formed HTS conglomerate, effectively aligning itself with hard-line jihadists.
As of now, the Islamist group is leaving HTS to join ranks with Ahrar al-Sham, a rebel coalition which Turkey continues to support with weapons and money.
Jihadists Open Fire on Protesters in Syria's Idlib
[AnNahar] Jihadists from a coalition led by al-Qaeda's former Syria affiliate fired on protesters in northwestern Idlib province on Thursday, a day after killing a demonstrator in the area, a monitor said.
The incident comes as the jihadist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) alliance fights pitched battles across opposition-held Idlib province with the Ahrar al-Sham
...a Syria jihadi group made up of Islamists and salafists, not that there's that much difference, formed into a brigade. They make up the main element of the Islamic Front but they don't profess adoration of al-Qaeda and they've been fighting (mainly for survival) against the Islamic State. Their leadership was wiped out at a single blow by a suicide kaboom at a crowded basement meeting in September, 2014...
rebel faction. The festivities have killed more than 40 people since they erupted this week, including 27 of the combatants and 11 civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor.
Another four of those killed have yet to be identified as fighters or civilians.
Among the casualties was media activist Musaab al-Ezzo, killed in the town of Saraqeb on Wednesday when HTS fighters opened fire on a demonstration against their presence.
The monitor said fresh demonstrations were staged in the town despite Ezzo's death, with the jihadists again opening fire, causing an unspecified number of injuries. The monitor's head Rami Abdel Rahman said demonstrators shouted slogans including "Saraqeb is free, free, Jolani out," a reference to Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, head of the leading component of HTS, the Fateh al-Sham
...formerly al-Nusra, the current false nose and mustache of al-Qaeda in the Levant...
Front.
Fateh al-Sham was previously known as al-Nusra
...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli al-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ...
Front, but changed its name after announcing it was shedding its status as al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate.
Fateh al-Sham and Ahrar al-Sham were once close allies, forming the backbone of the Army of Conquest alliance that seized most of Idlib province from government control in 2015. But tensions have been rising between the two groups, and the Observatory described the latest festivities as the most widespread and serious violence between the factions so far.
An AFP correspondent in the province said both sides had set up multiple checkpoints inside and around bustling provincial capital Idlib city. He said the city streets were deserted, with residents staying indoors for fear of festivities.