IDLIB (Dispatches) – Prominent members of the former Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib are seeking to invest their money in various economic sectors in efforts that amount to money laundering operations, Al-Monitor say. Late last month, Syrians staged a protest in the city of Darat Izza, northwest of Aleppo, against a decision by the terrorist group to close the popular market in the city center in order to construct a shopping center instead, calling for the release of merchants who were abducted during a raid by the militants on the market area because they had refused to evacuate their shops.