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Damascus – In a statement on Friday, the US Central Command announced on Thursday the launch of an airstrike against a group of senior al-Qaeda officials in Syria, and this is the fourth attack against al-Qaeda leaders in recent weeks. , although Thursday’s attack was the heaviest given the death toll.
The US raids targeted leaders who had defected from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, most of them foreigners, raising questions about the reasons for excluding the organization despite being on the international terrorism list, and there is a tendency to refloat it, due to its pragmatism in recent years, one of its manifestations was the declaration of its organizational separation from Al Qaeda. After the name was changed.
On Friday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights announced that the death toll from the recent US attack had risen to 22 people: 5 civilians and 17 jihadist leaders and elements who had defected from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and according to the organization ” Guardians of Religion “in connection with the rejection of the Russian-Turkish agreements within what is known as” Putin – Erdogan region “.
Among the jihadists killed, 11 former Tahrir al-Sham leaders, 5 of whom were of non-Syrian nationalities, and one of those killed was an Islamic State leader before joining the organization at a later time.
The Observatory noted that the number of deaths due to injuries is expected to increase, some of them in serious cases, in addition to the presence of information on other deaths. The Syrian Observatory, which is based in London and has a wide network of correspondents within Syria, had previously reported that 15 people were killed and others injured in a drone strike, most likely for the “International Coalition”, for a dinner, in the village of Yakara in the Salqin countryside, near the Syrian-Turkish borders.
And the United States had previously announced the assassination of two leaders of Hurras al-Din last week, namely Abuzar al-Masri, a member of the organization’s Shura Council, who had previously held the position of “public legislator”, and Abu Youssef al-Maghribi, who held the position of “general security” in the extremist organization, in a coup. By a drone.
Observers believe that there is an international tendency to liquidate the more radical elements of northern Syria, given the international threat they pose, provided the less extremist and Syrian elements are absorbed, and this path appears to be shared by Russia.
Observers note that recent operations mainly focused on the “Guardians of Religion” organization and some factions close to it, which reject the Russo-Turkish agreements in northwestern Syria.
On the other hand, some believe that international powers are trying to dismantle jihadist organizations in Syria and are working according to a gradual approach to attack their presence, in order to avoid any field effects that are in the interest of the Bashar regime. al-Assad, for the foreseeable future.
Turkey and Russia concluded a ceasefire agreement between Syrian forces and the Al-Sham Liberation Headquarters in Idlib, last February, and it still stands today despite the violations.
The Guardians of Religion Organization had announced its strong opposition to the agreement, and other factions joined it, creating tension with the organization, which is imposing its influence on about half the Idlib area and its surroundings.
And “Guardians of Religion” is an organization founded in late February 2018 within “Hayat Tahrir al-Sham”, but split from it after it split from al-Qaeda, which is affiliated with the faction.
Syria has witnessed a war, since the beginning of 2011, when the Syrian regime launched an offensive against protests against its government, which later turned into an armed conflict that interfered locally, regionally and internationally, and this conflict led to the death of hundreds of thousands of people, as well as the displacement and asylum of more than 10 million people, according to United Nations estimates.
Idlib is within the de-escalation zone that was formed according to an agreement between Turkey and Russia, in the framework of the Astana meetings related to the Syrian issue, and the situation is likely to continue as a comprehensive solution is pending. of the conflict, with the current priority of attacking the most dangerous jihadist leaders and elements.
