“Ansar Abu Bakr al-Sediq” Battalion’s attacks | Six Turkish soldiers killed in Idlib in 35 days
SOHR activists have reported that “Ansar Abu Bakr al-Sediq” Battalion killed six Turkish soldiers i the past 35 days, and claimed responsibility for most of the attacks which targeted Turkish forces since the Battalion was formed in September 2020.
The latest attack was carried out hours after HTS had announced arresting a member of Ansar Abu Bakr al-Sediq Battalion, as SOHR sources reported that two Turkish soldiers were killed and four others were injured due to an IED explosion which targeted a Turkish military convoy near Kafriya-Maarrat Masrin junction on Idlib-Bab al-Hawa road to the north of Idlib city. Moreover, three other militiamen of a corps close to Turkey were injured in the same explosion, as they were escorting the Turkish convoy.
On October 3, a Turkish soldier was killed due to an explosion targeting Turkish intelligence pickup in north Ariha city in Idlib countryside.
While on September 11, SOHR sources confirmed the death of two Turkish soldiers and injury of four others, after an IED explosion targeted their vehicle on the road between Idlib and Nabash in northern Idlib, amid unconfirmed reports of the death of a third soldier. On the other hand, “Abu Bakr al-Siddiq” battalion claimed responsibility of the attack.
Yesterday, October 14, SOHR sources reported that the security service of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham announced that it arrested an explosive expert in “Abu Bakr al-Siddiq” battalion which was responsible for IED attacks that targeted Turkish forces in Idlib. The explosive expert was the first official of the battalion to be arrested.
This development came over one year after the battalion announced about itself and claimed responsibility of its first attack against Turkish forces in Idlib.
The first show up of Ansar Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Battalion was in September 2020, after they had issued a statement claiming responsibility of an attack with a bobby-trapped car, which targeted the Turkish military base in Sallet al-Zohour village in the western countryside of Idlib in late August 2020. The battalion claimed that a person called Abu Sulaiman al-Ansari attacked the Turkish military post in Sallet al-Zohour school with a car-bomb, adding that dozens of Turkish soldiers were killed and wounded in that attack.
In its first statement, the battalion announced that it was an independent group, and that it did not belong to any organizations, groups or factions, inside or outside Syria.
It is worth noting that the show up of the Ansar Abu Bakr al-Siddiq came after the appearance of a similar group called “Khattab al-Shishani Battalions”, which claimed responsibility of three attacks, in late 2020, on Turkish-Russian joint patrols on the M4 highway in Idlib. The first attack was carried out with a bobby-trapped car in July 2020.