HTS hands over 2 foreign detainees to Turkish Intelligence
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front), handed over on Saturday two foreign detainees to Turkish Intelligence through Bab al-Hawa border crossing, between Turkey and Syria in Idlib Governorate, within security collaboration between the two parties.
A security source told North Press that the detainees, Abu al-Hakam al-Shishani and Imad al-Din al-Pakistani, used to work for the HTS but they were arrested on charges of espionage in 2021.
The operation of handing the detainees over was attended by Abu Ayoub al-Maghribi, border officer; Abu Mariya al-Qahtani, an official in the HTS; and a number of members of the Turkish Intelligence, the source added.
Such operations have been repeated several times based on prior coordination between the two parties, as the number of the foreign detainees who have been handed over to the Turkish Intelligence by the HTS since summer of 2022 has exceeded 21 detainees, according to the source.
In Oct. 2022, the HTS handed over six foreign detainees to Turkish intelligence.