Security chaos in HTS-held areas | Civilian dies of wounds sustained in earlier assassination attempt in rural Idlib
Idlib Province – Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: SOHR activists have documented the death of a civilian affected by the wounds he sustained two days ago, when unknown gunmen opened fire on him in Taftnaz town in Idlib countryside.
On January 20, SOHR sources reported an assassination attempt which targeted a farmer in Taftanaz town, north-eastern countryside of Idlib, as two unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on him, injuring him in the foot, and he was taken to the hospital in Benish city. However, the two gunmen followed the farmer and shot hem again in an attempt to kill him before being rescued, which injured him seriously. This incident came as part of the ongoing security chaos in areas under the control of HTS and opposition factions 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 730. 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
- 220 civilians, including 23 children and 22 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.