On June 13, a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) exploded near a headquarter of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) around the al-Kunsurwa building in the western part of the northern city of Idlib, according to the HTS-linked news network Iba’a.
Syrian opposition activists revealed that six members of HTS and civilians were killed and nine others were injured in the VBIED attack.
Minutes after the explosion, ISIS cells claimed responsibility of the VBIED attack through their social media accounts and said that the attack was a response to the HTS assault on an ISIS military camp in the village of Kefir Hind on June 5. Back then, HTS fighters killed twenty-three fighters and commanders of ISIS and captured five others.
During the last few months, ISIS cells stepped up their operations in the northern governorate of Idlib and targeted dozens of fighters and commanders of HTS and the Free Syrian Army (FSA). According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), over 130 militants have been killed in similar attacks since the beginning of May.
The new attack confirms that ISIS cells are still strong and capable of carrying out effective attacks in Idlib, despite the recent security operations by HTS and its allies.
