Unidentified gunmen assassinated a commander in Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham, believed to be Turkish, between Armanaz and Millis towns in the north-western countryside of Idlib, by a head shot, which caused his immediate death, as a part of returning the escalation of the assassinations whose pace varied during the past few weeks, the assassinations against commanders and members of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham and of rebel and Islamic factions in Idlib province and the northern countryside of Hama, created tension that increased the resentment of the citizens about the operations carried out by unidentified bodies, and the perpetrators were often accused of being related to the “Islamic State” organization or collaborating it, in which the escalation of the assassinations led to increase the pace of the research and the alertness in the ranks of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham in order to detect the perpetrators.

It is noteworthy that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on the 27th of October 2017, that a commander in Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham was assassinated in the eastern countryside of Idlib, and the Syrian Observatory learned that the commander is Jordanian, and he was targeted by detonating an explosive device in his car in Maar Dibsah area in the eastern section of Idlib countryside, which caused his death, this assassination is added to the series of the assassinations against commanders and members of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham and other factions, and the Syrian Observatory documented on the 25th of October 2017, that the son of Nusra Front leader in Qalamoun and Arsal was assassinated in the countryside of Idlib, the sources confirmed that Abu Malik al-Talli was killed by shooting by unknown gunmen in the countryside of Idlib city, while he was travelling on one of the roads in the area, and the Syrian Observatory also published on the 29th of September 2017, that unknown gunmen assassinated a leader in Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham of Libyan nationality, while another leader of Syrian nationality who was with was injured, the assassination took place near al-Dana area in the northern countryside of Idlib near the border with Iskenderun, where the Observatory published on the 20th of September that unknown gunmen assassinated 2 “Sharia men” of Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham in Idlib city, and in details documented by the Syrian observatory: gunmen opened fire of their light weapons on 2 “Sharia men” of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham of Moroccan and Tunisian nationalities, which killed them instantly and then the gunman fled away, and this incident coincided with the assassination of a French leader who was shot when he was on the road of Ma’arrat Mesrin in the northern countryside of Idlib,. These two incidents are part of the escalating assassinations in the ranks of Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented on the 18th of September 2017 that unidentified gunmen assassinated a leader of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham and a real estate official in the town of Harem in the northern countryside of Idlib and then they fled, and on the 17th of the same month the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published that unknown gunmen assassinated a “judge” of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham of a Gulf nationality. They shot him after leaving a mosque in the city, where the judge works as a preacher in the mosque, and reliable sources asserted that unknown people riding a motorcycle assassinated the gulf judge, Suraqa al-Makki, and escaped. The local sources said that the judge assassinated called on Friday sermon and in previous speeches to confront the attack of the Turkish forces in case they attacked the city, and prevent Turkey from entering and intervening in the province of Idlib. The family of Suraqa al-Makki was accused of suppressing demonstrations against the Hayyaat in the city of Idlib and its countryside, unknown gunmen also assassinated on the 13th of September a Gulf “judge” in Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham in the town of Saraqeb in the eastern countryside of Idlib, where they shot Abu Mohamed the judge within the ranks of the organization of Jund al-Aqsa, of which a part in the ranks of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham, while some of them joined the ranks of ISIS, it worth mentioning that these assassinations also come after two of the most prominent Sharia men of “Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham”, have defected of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham, they are Abdullah al-Muhaysini and Musleh al-Aliani. These two persons are from Gulf nationalities and this also come after defects of Jaysh al-Ahrar from the Hayyaat, which is consisted of members of Ahrar al-Sham Movement and its leaders who joined Tahrir al-Sham in the first half of 2017.