Eight rebels including six commanders of Al Qaeda-linked rebel were killed Sunday in a missile strike in Syria’s rebel-held north-west. The slain terrorists were revealed to belong to Hurras Al-Deen, which maintains ties to the global extremist network and fights alongside Al Qaeda’s former Syria branch, Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS).
Six commanders, including two Tunisians, two Algerians, an Egyptian and a Syrian, were killed by a strike targeting a meeting; also wounded in the strike were at least a dozen other rebels.
HTS dominates Idlib province as well as parts of neighboring Hama, Aleppo and Latakia. Hurras al-Deen was established in February 2018 and has about 1,800 fighters. Despite the US-led coalition declaring that they had conquered all ISIL-held territory in Syria, there has been isolated airstrikes backed by Russia against rebels in various parts, especially in Idlib.
