High ranking Al-Qaeda linked commander assassinated in southern Idlib
[AlMasdar] 2018-09-24 — A high ranking Al-Qaeda linked military commander was recently assassinated in the southern countryside of the Idlib Governorate, opposition activists reported via social media on Sunday.
According to reports, the military commander of Tanzim Hurras Al-Deen, ‘Saiyaf’, was assassinated near the town of Kansafra on Sunday after unknown assailants opened fire on his vehicle.
Tanzim Hurras Al-Deen is a radical jihadist group that is currently fighting the Syrian government forces in the northwestern region of Syria.
Since the recent Russian-Turkish agreement on the fate of Idlib, the assassinations of rebel commanders in the province have resumed.
In the past week, at least two high ranking jihadist commanders have been killed by unknown assailants in the Idlib Governorate.
While no group has officially claimed responsibility for these assassinations, opposition activists have taken to social media to accuse Syrian government spies of carrying out these attacks.
Senior Nusra commander assassinated in Syria’s Idlib
A[AlMasdar] (2:50 P.M.) – A top-level military commander for the Syrian al-Qaeda offshoot was mysteriously killed in southern Idlib.
Abu Talhat al-Iraqi, an Iraqi national, was assassinated when unidentified assailants opened fire at his vehicle somewhere in al-Der al-Sharqi village.
Al-Iraqi is the second Nusra commander to kick the bucket in the past 72 hours.
Civilians return homes through Abu Duhur crossing in east Idlib
[AlMasdar] (3:40 P.M.) – Scores of families passed through the Abu Duhur crossing to their homes in east Idlib countryside just one day after the Syrian government re-opened the humanitarian corridor.
The civilians came out of rebel-held areas toward the territories controlled by the Syrian government in the eastern countryside of Idlib.
The Syrian authorities provided the families with humanitarian aid and basic needs; allowing them to resettle in their farms and resume their agriculture activities.
Russia accuses European states of delivering materials to produce chemical weapons to Syria’s Idlib
[AlMasdar] (12:45 A.M.) – Several European states have delivered materials to produce chemical weapons to the Syrian province of Idlib recently, the Director of the Department for Arms Non-Proliferation and Control at the Russian Foreign Ministry Vladimir Yermakov said on Tuesday.
“Many things may disclose in Idlib now. Deliveries of components of chemical weapons from European states were carried out there. It all will re-emerge again soon,” Yermakov said, as quoted by Tass News Agency.
Yermakov did not specify which European states he was referencing; however, his comments remain in line with the Russian Foreign Ministry’s stance on the delivery of chemical weapons to the Idlib Governorate.
Recently, the Russian and Turkish presidents agreed to establish a 10-15km demilitarized zone inside the Idlib Governorate.
Since this Putin-Erdogan agreement was announced, the hostilities in the Idlib Governorate have dissipated, despite the rejection of this demilitarized zone by the jihadist rebels of Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham and the Turkestan Islamic Party.
At least 400 ISIS members transferred from Albukamal to Idlib: monitor
[AlMasdar] (3:30 A.M.) – At least 400 members of the Islamic State (ISIS) members were transferred from the border-city of Albukamal to the Idlib province in northwest Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights alleged on Tuesday.
According to the SOHR report, the 400 ISIS fighters may have been transferred as part of an exchange with the Syrian government for the release of the Druze civilians that were taken hostage by the terrorist group in August.
The SOHR said that the deal was made on Saturday and that the Islamic State members were transferred to a part of Idlib under the control of “jihadist elements.”
The Syrian government has not commented on this claim nor has any source in Sweida mentioned this deal.
Since the Islamic State kidnapped dozens of civilians from the Sweida Governorate in July, the Syrian government has been negotiating the release of the people currently held captive by the terrorist group.
It is believed that the Islamic State has managed to move the civilians from the Al-Safa volcanic region to the Deir Ezzor Governorate, where they are currently being held captive in an undisclosed area.