...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...(HTS — formerly 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) arrested a prominent leader within its ranks, Deputy Head of the General Security Apparatus of the HTS. He was charged with collaborating with international intelligence agencies in Idlib Governorate, northwest Syria.
An exclusive source informed North Press, on the condition of anonymity, that "General Security Apparatus raided the house of Abu al-Walid al-Iraqi, the deputy of Abu Maria al-Qahtani, head of the General Security Apparatus, and arrested him on charges of transferring sensitive files and information to international intelligence."
The source added that the arrests also targeted employees of the Ministry of Interior in the Salvation Government of the HTS on the same charges.
The source further indicated that the recent wave of arrests carried out by the HTS has started to target individuals and prominent officials close to the leadership.
Since June 18, areas under the control of the HTS in northwest Syria, have been witnessing the greatest security campaign since July 2017 when the group seized the region.