48 arrested by HTS in search for killer of top official
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – The number of detainees has risen to 48, including women, on Saturday, as a result of a security campaign launched by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in the Sahl al-Rouj (al-Rouj plain) in western Idlib, following the assassination of a top security official of the HTS.
On Friday, a top HTS security official named Ibrahim Mahmoud al-Ali, known as Abu Sahib Sarmin, was killed by unknown gunmen carrying the banner of a group called Saraya Dir’ al-Thawra.
A source told North Press that the campaign, which started early on Saturday, has so far resulted in the arrest of 48 people, including five women, on charges of participating in security operations against the HTS in Sahl al-Rouj.
The source indicated that the security campaign will continue until the cell that targeted the official is found, amid fears of using the incident as a pretext to carry out “revenge arrests.”
Earlier today, an HTS officer was shot at and wounded by unidentified gunmen in Jisr al-Shughur, in western Idlib.