ALEPPO, Syria — Uzbek jihadis affiliated with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which controls the northwestern province of Idlib, destroyed some antiquities such as statues in the Idlib Museum on June 11, claiming they were “false idols” that should not be displayed. The Islamic State previously took similar actions in areas it controlled in Syria.

A video circulated on social media that showed debris scattered in one of the museum halls that were stormed by the jihadis at night. It appears that the video was filmed by one of the jihadis, who was speaking the language of Uzbekistan.

Mahmood Talha, a journalist who is based in the Aleppo countryside and who works with Thiqa News Agency, a local opposition network, told Al-Monitor that before the Uzbek jihadis stormed the Idlib Museum, some jihadis opposing Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) posted pictures and videos of the statues in the museum. “They criticized HTS for allowing the display of idols in its areas of control in Idlib. Some jihadis affiliated with HTS, particularly the Uzbeks, were provoked by such posts and they thus stormed the museum and destroyed the ‘idol’ statues.”

Syrian opposition researcher Hosam Jazmati posted on Facebook on June 12, “Three years ago, the HTS-affiliated Syrian Salvation Government in Idlib reopened the Idlib Museum under the supervision of a number of archaeologists, and the museum became a destination for students and for a number of school visits. … A picture of children at the museum showing six or seven statues behind them provoked a number of jihadis who had defected from HTS. They denounced having idols in an area that is supposed to be governed by Islamic law, claiming that it is a move by [HTS leader Abu Mohammed] al-Golani to please the West, after his interview with [American] journalist Martin Smith.”