Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra) and its allies established control over the villages of Sham al-Hawa, Umm al-Khalakhil, Kuhwayn al-Kabbir and some nearby points in southern Idlib after ISIS terrorists operating in the area had surrendered to their “moderate” counterparts.
Overnight on February 13, reports appeared that some 400 ISIS members operating in the area surrenderd to the “moderate opposition”. Later, the number decreased to 340, including 80 women and children. However, the existing photos do not allow to confirm any of these numbers. MORE DETAILS HERE
However, the fact that ISIS units had no more capabilities to fight because they had lost all of its equipment to the Syrian Army in the battle for the northeastern Hama pocket appeared to be true. Thus, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham used this situation to expand its countrol in the area.
If the collapse of the ISIS force in southern Idlib is confirmed, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham will likely make an attempt to launch some offensive operations against army positions in the area of Abu al-Duhur and south of it aiming to take back at least some of the areas, which had been recently captured by government forces.
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