DAMASCUS (Dispatches) – Heavy infighting has erupted between two major terrorist groups in Syria’s northwestern Idlib Province, with the clashes spreading to a border crossing with Turkey.
The battles between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and Ahrar al-Sham, a coalition of terrorists supported by Turkey and Saudi Arabia, erupted earlier this week, director of the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP on Friday.
So far, 15 civilians, including four children and a media activist, and 50 terrorists have been killed during the conflict.
Overnight, fierce battles spread to several parts of the province, including the Bab al-Hawa border crossing, previously controlled by Ahrar al-Sham.
"The fighting is now inside the crossing. It has become a battlefield, with part of it under Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s control, and part under Ahrar al-Sham’s control,” Abdel Rahman said.
AFP also reported heavy battles on the outskirts of the town of Binnish and HTS attempts to break into the village of Ram Hamdan.
The two terrorist groups were once the key parts of Jaish al-Fatah (Army of Conquest) umbrella group for terrorists that captured most of Idlib Province from the Syrian government in 2015.
The news comes as Iraqi forces have managed to retake a village, situated south of the recently-liberated city of Mosul, in their latest push to rid the whole country of Daesh terrorists.
Iraqi Police Colonel Kareem Aboud announced on Thursday the full recapture of the Imam Gharbi village by the government forces.
The bodies of two Iraqi journalists, who were executed by terrorists, were also discovered during the liberation operation, he said, noting that the Iraqi troops were now searching Imam Gharbi for remaining Takfiri elements.
Stripped of Mosul, the Daesh terrorists are now resorting to different tactics to block the Iraqi soldiers’ advances.
The Iraqi forces liberated Imam Gharbi several months ago, but earlier this month, dozens of Daesh terrorists armed with machine guns and mortars crossed the Tigris River and attacked the village.
An Iraqi security source estimated lately that Daesh held 60 percent of Imam Gharbi.