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Jihadists accuse HTS of conspiring with Syrian government to kill IS leader

Jihadis opposed to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in northern Syria accuse it of sending fighters from Idlib to Daraa, in the south of the country, to aid the Russians and government forces in eradicating Islamic State cells and their leader in the province.
A picture taken during a tour organized by the Syrian Ministry of Information shows a Syrian national flag and cars in the district of Daraa al-Balad, Daraa, Syria, Sept. 12, 2021.

Jihadist fighters in northwestern Syria opposed to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former al-Qaeda wing, are claiming that groups affiliated with HTS have taken part in the security operation that led to the killing of Islamic State (IS) leader Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi in the countryside of Daraa province, in southern Syria, in mid-October.

A spokesman for IS announced in an audio recording Nov. 30 that Qurayshi was killed in battle recently, without adding more details as to the location or time of death. 

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