IDLIB: A group led by Syria's former Al-Qaida affiliate on Sunday denied it knew the head of the Islamic State group, killed in a US raid, lived in an area under its control. IS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi blew himself up Thursday during the nighttime raid on his house in Syria's northwest region of Idlib, which is mostly dominated by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) jihadist group, an IS rival. "We condemn this (US) operation," the group added, saying it would continue to "fight against vices and crime." HTS occasionally carries out operations against IS-affiliated cells in the region — Syria's last main jihadist and rebel bastion, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. In recent years, HTS has tried to cast itself as a more moderate player focused only on Syrian matters and condemning international terrorism.

Source: Manila Times February 07, 2022 22:46 UTC