HTS hands over foreign fighters to Turkish intelligence
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) handed over on Tuesday three foreign fighters to Turkish intelligence through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing in northern Idlib after 10 days of detaining them.
A security source told North Press that the fighters are Abu Thabit al-Afghani, an Afghani fighter and a former leader within ISIS, a Russian national, and Abu Azam al-Maqdisi, a former jihadi leader in Jund al-Sham, a Turkish-backed faction of the Syrian National Army (SNA).
The source added that the fighters were transferred from Prison 107 in Idlib city to Bab al-Hawa border crossing where they were handed over to Turkish intelligence.
The source said that the handover was carried out at the request of the Turkish side and under the supervision of Abu Maria al-Qahtani, a senior security leader in HTS.
Similar handovers are conducted regularly, with no information available regarding the rationale behind them or the fate of fighters involved.
In late July, HTS handed over two foreign al-Qaeda leaders to Turkish intelligence at the Bab al-Hawa border crossing, following 18 months of detainment in its prisons.