ALEPPO — Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has seemingly come a long way in seizing control over Idlib and aspires to expand that control at the Turkish-backed opposition's expense in northwestern Syria. Since early 2019 and after battling Free Syrian Army (FSA) factions, HTS has directed its attention to the development of the civil administration’s work and provided its affiliated Syrian Salvation Government with additional powers to set up institutions and bodies to manage civil action.
In the security sector, HTS portrays itself as the de facto ruler in its areas of influence and promotes its alleged success through the pursuit of Islamic State (IS) cells. The HTS general security apparatus announced Jan. 13 a security operation targeting an IS cell in the Idlib countryside.
