Hayat Tahrir al-Sham defeats Jundallah in northern Latakia
ISWNews Analysis Group: Hayat Tahrir al-Sham succeeded in arresting three field commanders of Junud al-Sham and took control of some positions of Jundallah militants in the north of Latakia province.
Following the clashes between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and Junud al-Sham and Jundallah militants in northern Latakia, Tahrir al-Sham arrested Abu Musa al-Shishani, brother of Muslim al-Shishani, the leader of Junud al-Sham, along with two other field commanders while fleeing to Turkey.
Musa al-Shishani was opposed to surrendering to Tahrir al-Sham and was very dissatisfied with his brother’s acceptance of Tahrir al-Sham’s terms. After Tahrir al-Sham militants advanced in the occupied areas of northern Latakia, he and two others decided to flee to Turkey, but failed.
Also, as a result of the armed clashes between al-Julani and Abu Hanifa al-Azari militants in Jabal al-Turkman, Tahrir al-Sham militants succeeded in taking control of the al-Sallur area. Also, pictures released by Tahrir al-Sham show that Jundallah militants have retreated from their last positions.
Given Tahrir al-Sham’s recent advances against Jundallah and the acceptance of Tahrir al-Sham’s terms by Muslim al-Shishani, the leader of Junud al-Sham faction, to transfer him and his men to Idlib, it seems that the clashes between the two groups has ended.
The attempt of Muslim al-Shishani’s brother and two other commanders to flee to Turkey was also due to their knowledge of the current situation and the lack of conditions for resisting Tahrir al-Sham.
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