The situation in Tal Adeh, where Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched a “security operation” on October 10, is still tense.
A large force of HTS stormed the town, which is located in northern Idlib, looking for wanted militants. Fierce clashes broke up when the militants fired back. Heavy weapons were used in the clashes.
According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least five security personnel of HTS were killed in the clashes.
HTS’ General Security claimed that 13 local militants affiliated with ISIS were killed and 18 others were captured in the operation. The gunmen were allegedly training ISIS members on sabotage in a camp near Tal Adeh.
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Tal Adeh’s locals refuted these claims. In a statement, prominent figures from the town said HTS operation targeted a group of militants who recently defected from the group. The defectors were reportedly led by a local radical known as Qutaiba al-Barsha.
Al-Barsha is infamous for carrying out assassinations in Greater Idlib on behalf of HTS’ security forces. Some sources claimed that al-Barsha was among those killed in the operation.
In July, clashes were reported between HTS and al-Barsha’s gang in Tal Adeh. Back then, some sources claimed that al-Barsha was arrested by the group. This was later denied.
Tal Adeh’s operation is another example of how HTS is cracking down on its foes as well as its old allies to tighten its grip over greater Idlib.
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The best news that the bastards fought among themselves and die
Nothing but bandits larping as policemen. This is the future they planned for all of Syria had they won.
Rat on Rat violence,keep it up you vermin.
HTS are making Turkey bleed like no one else has, so could it get any better than this, yes it could, but for things to get even better Putin has to stop kissing Erdogan’s ass and at the same time stop harassing HTS for no reason, and then Putin has to let HTS do their job. SF are getting closer to telling you the truth but they’re not quite there yet, there’s just a few more things they need to disclose, for a start not every Isis fighter killed or arrested by HTS is really an Isis fighter, some are and some aren’t, some are reported as being Isis fighters but sometimes they’re actually fighters from factions who belong to the Turkish backed Syrian Interim Government forces, which in my opinion are practically the same thing anyway. But it doesn’t matter which group they belong to, if HTS is killing and arresting members of either group it still suites Assad and the Syrian Government just fine, I haven’t heard one complaint about what HTS is doing from Assad, and he didn’t even complain when the US was ninja bombing them either, so I can only imagine Assad’s been laughing his guts out. HTS and the Salvation Government politically control 75+% of the occupied territories of Latakia, Hama, Idlib, and Aleppo, and the Turkish backed Syrian Interim Government only control less than 25% of the occupied territories, and atm they’re engaged in an all out political war [AGAINST EACH OTHER] to control all the occupied territories. Russia Iran and Turkey all agreed the Turkish backed Syrian Interim Government would be the legitimate oppositions voice in the new political process [resolution 2254 + Astana agreements 2018], this process would include rewriting the Syrian constitution and the holding subsequent UN mediated elections, but since the Russian/Iranian/Turkish/US/EU/UN backed Syrian Opposition Government only represent 25% of the opposition forces, it probably means the UN’s going to find it hard to claim the elections were free and fair, especially when HTS and the Salvation Government say but you left out 75% of the opposition, we didn’t get a say in anything. Did you notice I called them the Russian/Iranian/Turkish/US/EU/UN backed Syrian Interim Government, instead of just calling them the Turkish backed Syrian Interim Government, I said it that way because that’s the most accurate description for their ties to the moderate opposition factions that belong to the Syrian Interim Government, you know the factions who keep attacking the SAA relentlessly, the SNL, NFL, SLF, and FSA. So Russia and Iran want the moderate opposition to succeed just as much as the Turks do, they have a lot vested in this political process, unfortunately for Russia and Iran the moderate opposition are uncontrollable at the best of times [and they haven’t been at their best lately], so the moderate opposition aren’t acting like opposition at all, in fact as I said they’re continually attacking the SAA all the time and breaking the new ceasefire, and yet ironically HTS is happily abiding to a ceasefire they aren’t even included in. So that’s the big picture but it breaks down even further and gets really interesting from this point on, both HTS and the moderate opposition faction have problems with their own people, for HTS it’s the Chechens and Uighurs who’re more loyal to Erdogan than they are HTS and the Salvation Government, they also have the Muslim Brotherhood trying to retake lost political territory for the Syrian Interim Government, a lot of them are being killed and arrested by HTS, and they also have Isis annoying them too but I think Isis isn’t faring too well either, so apart from the Uighur and Chechen problem HTS seems to be holding its own quite well. But poor old Turkey and the Syrian Interim Government haven’t fared as well though, problems with their own people just keep getting worse all the time, smirk. As I said due to political losses to HTS they now only control 25% of the occupied territories, so their government institutions only serve 25% of the population and they only collect 25% of the taxes, smirk, so that’s problem number one, they lost most of their people and now they want them back [but how]. Secondly they have a huge problem with the people who were left out of the Astana agreements, those groups are not happy about being left out of the agreements, they feel that because they remained loyal to Turkey instead of HTS, Erdogan should’ve included them in the Astana agreements [Russia refused to include them]. Now they’re making big trouble because of all the announcements by Russia that the political process [according to resolution 2254 and the Astana agreements] is currently being implemented as quickly as possible, they’re getting worried they won’t have a home after the political process begins. The Russians have put immense pressure on Erdogan to sort out his opposition forces but he can’t come close to getting them sorted. So when you read articles in SF that imply HTS is most likely responsible for any of the attacks against coordinated Russian/Turkish patrols on the M4 highway, they’re definitely not responsible, it’s always the people who want to become moderate opposition forces, they’re the ones ALWAYS responsible for those attacks. They’re really pissed the Astana agreements designated them as terrorists and these attacks are their way of forcibly persuading Erdogan, to forcibly persuade the Russians, to change their minds and redesignate them as moderate opposition forces, geniuses aren’t they. But that still isn’t the biggest problem, now we have to include everyone in the next problem, the Russians, the Iranians, the Turks, EU, US, the UN, and the Syrian Interim Government, because the next problem is a problem they all face. And their biggest problem is HTS and the Salvation Government, while HTS exists in the political form it does resolution 2254 can’t really be implemented, and ironically the only side not concerned about the delays in implementing resolution 2254, is the Syrian Government. Well HTS and the pro Turkish terrorists aren’t happy about it either but they’re both trying to be included in their own ways, as I said the pro Turkish terrorists are violently blackmailing Turkey and Russia, and HTS is taking the opposite approach and acting like church choir boys. So the Russian’s have to do something to get rid of HTS if they want resolution 2254 to proceed, and the big problem I have with that is it just leaves Turkey in a stronger position than it is already, they may have their military might spread all over HTS controlled territory but they don’t have political control over the areas, but once HTS is gone they will, and then resolution 2254 will be right back on track. Russia and Iran politically support the moderate opposition forces that are actually fighting against Assad’s Government, while the military arm of the moderate opposition forces are fighting against Assad’s army, the political arm of the moderate opposition forces are right now sitting down with members of Assad’s Government and rewriting the Syrian constitution, all courtesy of the Russian, Iranian, Turkish resolution 2254. So I don’t blame people for being confused about what the hell is really going on in Syria, it’s the biggest secret on earth on some news forums, but the simple truth that can easily explain everything is,
THE RUSSIANS AND IRANIANS WANT THE MODERATE OPPOSITION TO SUCCEED IN A POLITCAL SETTLEMENT.
But most SF readers want a military solution, and so does Assad, and so do I, especially if it’s the right military solution.
Come on SF, spill the beans, tell it the way it really is.