Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which controls Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib, has recently stepped up its arrest campaign against al-Qaeda-affiliated Hurras al-Din. 

News circulated Feb. 2 about HTS’ arrest of Abu al-Bara al-Tunisi, a prominent Hurras al-Din leader, as well as two other leaders of Moroccan nationality. The arrests took place during raids carried out by HTS’ security apparatus in the town of Kansafra, in the Jabal al-Zawiya area.

Tunisi is one of the most prominent figures in Hurras al-Din and is close to al-Qaeda. He was a former member of Jabhat al-Nusra, but defected from it after the latter's dissassociation from al-Qaeda in 2016. 

News outlets close to Hurras al-Din had announced in September 2021 that two prominent leaders of the organization, namely Abu al-Bara al-Tunisi and Abu Hamza al-Yamani, were killed in a drone attack by the US-led international coalition targeting their car near the city of Binnish, in northwestern Idlib province. However, the recent reports of Tunisi’s arrest may indicate that another leader was targeted in the 2021 attack.