Idlib countryside | One member killed and others wounded of HTS’ security forces in clashes with ISIS cell

Idlib Province- Syrian Observatory for Human Rights:

SOHR activists say that a woman was wounded, while one member was killed and five others were injured of the HTS’ security forces during clashes with members of the Islamic State in the city of Kafr Takhareem in north-western Idlib province.

Meanwhile, Two ISIS members were killed after hiding inside a house for hours.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has monitored this evening clashes on the outskirts of kafr Takharem city in the north-western countryside of Idlib, between the HTS’ security forces and cells of the “Islamic State” hiding in one of the houses of the city.

The clashes lasted for more than an hour, during which grenades and machine guns were used, while “Tahrir al-Sham” brought in reinforcement to the area and deployed security checkpoints on main and side roads.

According to Syrian Observatory sources, Tahrir al-Sham has managed to take control of the house, while the fate of the ISIS cell has not yet been known.

Reliable sources have informed the Syrian Observatory that the city of Idlib and its surroundings have been witnessing since dawn Tuesday, a high security alert by HTS, as dozens of heavy armed vehicles and members were deployed in the area.

According to Syrian Observatory sources, Tahrir al-Sham is expected to launch a large-scale security campaign during the day, targeting cells of ISIS and Syrian regime, in light of the security chaos in Idlib province.

As more fatalities were documented, the number of people who have been killed in the countryside of Idlib, Aleppo, Hama, and Latakia since the 26th of April 2018, the start date of the security chaos to be escalated in these provinces, rose to 725. They were assassinated by bomb attacks, IED detonations, gunfire, abductions and then killing and throwing the bodies in remote areas. The fatalities were distributed as follows:

• A fighter in Turkistan Islamic Party

• The wife of an Uzbek commander and another child was with her

• The attorney-general of the Ministry of Justice of the Salvation Government

• 215 civilians, including 23 children and 21 women

• 429 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

• 79 fighters of Somali, Uzbek, Asian, Gulf, Jordanian, Turkish and Caucasian nationalities.

Meanwhile, the assassination attempts have injured tens of people with varying severity.