HTS arrests commander, 2 militants in Syria’s Idlib
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra) arrested on Sunday three of its militants, one of them an Afghani leader, in the city of Idlib, northwestern Syria, under charges of espionage for foreign parties.
A military source within the HTS told North Press that the General Security Service (GSS) of the HTS raided the residence of the Afghani commander, aka Abu Omar Amaliyat, in the al-Sheikh Thelith neighborhood in Idlib.
The source added the GSS militants arrested the Afghani leader and a militant who was accompanying him. They were taken to one of the prisons near the city. At the same time, the GSS arrested Abu al-Zubeir, a security official who hails from the town of Shuhail in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor Governorate, eastern Syria, from his house in Idlib.
These arrests were carried out as part of HTS’ campaign to eliminate sleeper cells among its ranks. Since the beginning of 2023, the HTS has arrested more than 350 militants and commanders in its ranks under charges of espionage for foreign parties, according to the source.