Assassinations continue to escalate in Idlib Province through bombings and shootings and raise the death toll to more than 235 people including over 50 civilians
Areas in the countryside of Idlib and Aleppo are witnessing continuous assassinations and targeting, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored in the morning of today the 14th of July 2018, an IED explosion near a police station of the “Rescue Government” in Sarmada town in the countryside of Idlib, which injured several members of the sentry post, also Khan Shaykhun in the southern countryside of Idlib witnessed after midnight of yesterday an assassination of a fighter of a military regiment Jaysh al-Izza, and another was injured after they were shot, also several fighters of Jaysh al-Izza were injured by gunshot of unidentified gunmen in the countryside of Idlib, while a unknow gunmen opened fire on a man in al-Atareb town in the western countryside of Aleppo, which injured him, also gunmen opened fire at a local commander in a rebel faction in al-Dana town in the northern countryside of Quneitra.
And with the fall of more casualties it rose to at least 236, the number of people who were assassinated in Idlib countryside and both Aleppo and Hama countryside, they are the wife of an Uzbek commander and his son, in addition to 50 civilians including 8 children and 3 women, of who were assassinated through bomb explosions, IED detonations, shooting, abduction, murder and then throwing the bodies in remote areas, and 159 fighters of Syrian nationality belong to Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham, al-Sham Corps, the Islamic Movement of Ahrar al-Sham, Jaysh al-Izza, and other factions operating in Idlib, and 25 fighters of Uzbek, Asian, Gulf, Jordanian and Caucasian nationalities have been assassinated in the same ways since the 26th of April 2018, also the assassination attempts have injured tens of people with varying severity, while the factions stepped up their raids and operations against sleeper cells they accused of belonging to the “Islamic State” organization, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published days ago that Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham arresting a commander defected of the “Islamic State” organization, he is Jordanian nationality commander and he moved to the ranks of jihadist organizations within Syria about 5 years ago, where in recent weeks information about his disappearance was spread following his announcement of defection, because he accused the Organization of asking people to arbitrate the Sharia of ALLAH and not applying it to itself, and because of the corruption of judges and officials in the Organization, and the fact that they were not judging by the rules of ALLAH as a result of being under the control of the security services of the Organization, and the sources confirmed that the leader was arrested in al-Dana area in the northern countryside of Idlib near the Syrian – Iraqi border.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published last night that the province of Idlib witnessed today evening, Friday the 13th of July 2018, escalated pace of assassinations, in a response by the cells of the “Islamic State” organization, to the execution of an “Emir of a cell” after being captured in Sahel Al-Rouj west of Idlib, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored the assassination of a military commander in Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham as well as the injury of an Iraqi commander after being shot by unidentified gunmen at the bridge of Afs in Saraqeb area in the eastern countryside of Idlib, also 2 members of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham were assassinated by beheading them after they had been kidnapped by a group believed to belong to the organization, while a violent explosion was heard in Idlib city, caused by an explosion at Maarrat Misrin roundabout, while the Imam of a mosque was assassinated in Al-Salihiyah village in the southern sector of Idlib countryside.
These assassinations come hours after assassinations and detonations attempts in Idlib countryside and the west of Aleppo, where the SOHR monitored today morning, Friday, the detonation of 3 IEDs in Maarrat al-Nu’man city in the southern countryside of Idlib, and at Batbu junction in the western countryside of Aleppo, adjacent to the eastern countryside of Idlib at the international highway in Saraqib area, which caused several injuries.
And the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham arresting the “security Emir of the Islamic State Organization” in western sector along with several of its members, and took them to an unknown destination, accusing them of slaughtering fighters, detonating IEDs and assassinating members of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham and other factions in the countryside of Idlib, where Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham immediately separated his head from his body after arresting him, without subjecting him to investigation and knowing who are the parties behind the assassinations or the places of the rest of the sleeper cells, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published this morning, Friday, that with the increased assassinations in the countryside of Idlib, the latest of which was the assassination of a fighter of al-Sham Corps by unknown gunmen on the road of Turmanin – Darat Azza north of Idlib at the road of the western countryside of Aleppo, and the attempted assassination of the Sheikh Anas Ayrout; the dean of the Faculty of Sharia and president of the Court of Appeal in Idlib, who suffered varying severity injuries along with several of his companions and other people who were at the place of the bombing inside Idlib city, where the “Islamic State” Organization in Idlib claimed this assassination attempt describing the Sheikh Anas Ayrout as a “Murtad” (Apostate), the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham starting a security operation in Sahl al-Rouj area west of Idlib city, searching for “sleeper cells” belong to the “Islamic State” Organization and responsible for assassinations and assassination attempts in the countryside of Idlib and its surroundings, since the escalation of these assassinations in late April 2018, where this operation comes as a part of the raid and search operations which have been carried out by Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham weeks ago in Idlib Province, also, the raids were preceded by similar operations carried out in Sarmin and Salqin and other areas in the countryside of Idlib, after clashes between members of these cells against members of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham and its supporting factions in this operation, which caused casualties in the ranks of both parties.