How Zawahiri's death affects Syrian opposition factions
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham did not issue an official statement regarding Ayman al-Zawahiri’s death, although some if the group's leaders expressed condolences on Telegram.
The US killing of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri by drone strike in Afghanistan has evoked expressions of support in areas of Syria's Idlib province under the control of the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS).
On July 31, US President Joe Biden announced Zawahiri's killing in a US raid in Kabul.
Speaking from the White House on Aug. 1, Biden said that the intelligence services had located Zawahiri earlier this year, noting that no one from Zawahiri's family or other civilians had been injured in the raid. He pointed out that Zawahiri had been the mastermind of attacks against Americans for decades, and Afghanistan would never again become a safe haven for terrorists.
Although HTS did not issue an official statement regarding Zawahiri’s death, some of its religious leaders offered condolences on their Telegram channels. Abdul Rahim Atoun (Abu Abdullah al-Shami) wrote, “May God have mercy on Sheikh Ayman al-Zawahiri and accept him, raise his rank among the Mahdis and grant him access to paradise with the prophets, the truthful ones, the martyrs and the righteous.”
