Syrian rebels in Idlib step up campaign against IS
Syrian rebels in Idlib step up campaign against IS
Following the assassination of another Ahrar al-Sham commander in a suspected IS attack, the rebel group said it has launched a new crackdown on IS sympathisers in Idlib province.
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Ahrar al-Sham - a Salafi group - has been targeted by IS [AFP]
Syrian rebels Ahrar al-Sham have stepped up their campaign against the Islamic State group by threatening to kill anyone linked to the militant organisation in Idlib province.
In a statement published by the Ahmed Assaf Brigades the group said they would arrest anyone who sympathised with the group or published their news.
The rebel group said the new measures follow the killing of a Ahrar al-Sham commander - commander Majed Hussein al-Sadeq - by a suicide bomber on Saturday, along with a number of other leading figures from the group.
The statement added that they detained a number of suspected of being members of the organisation and said they had uncovered an IS cell working in the province.
The battalion also claimed to have seized a number of improvised explosive devices from the group along with large amounts of cannabis and other narcotics.
Last July, Ahrar al-Sham's leader - Abu Abdelrahman Salqeen - was killed after two men detonated their bomb belts during a meeting with the rebel group in the Abu Talha area of Idlib.
Ahrar al-Sham is one of Syria's most powerful rebel groups, founded in 2011 and who experts say are financed and supported by the Gulf and Turkey.
It is a leading member of the Jaish al-Islam alliance that controls the northwest province of Idlib along with al-Qaeda affiliate al-Nusra Front.
In a statement published by the Ahmed Assaf Brigades the group said they would arrest anyone who sympathised with the group or published their news.
The rebel group said the new measures follow the killing of a Ahrar al-Sham commander - commander Majed Hussein al-Sadeq - by a suicide bomber on Saturday, along with a number of other leading figures from the group.
The statement added that they detained a number of suspected of being members of the organisation and said they had uncovered an IS cell working in the province.
The battalion also claimed to have seized a number of improvised explosive devices from the group along with large amounts of cannabis and other narcotics.
Last July, Ahrar al-Sham's leader - Abu Abdelrahman Salqeen - was killed after two men detonated their bomb belts during a meeting with the rebel group in the Abu Talha area of Idlib.
Ahrar al-Sham is one of Syria's most powerful rebel groups, founded in 2011 and who experts say are financed and supported by the Gulf and Turkey.
It is a leading member of the Jaish al-Islam alliance that controls the northwest province of Idlib along with al-Qaeda affiliate al-Nusra Front.
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