BEIRUT, LEBANON (4:30 P.M.) – A massive explosion rocked the provincial capital of the Idlib Governorate this afternoon, opposition activists reported via social media.

According to the reports, a car bomb targeted the Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham base inside the southern part of Idlib city, killing at least 15 people and wounding 20 more.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack as of yet.

Today’s blast marks the second time in the last 24 hours that Idlib city has experienced a car bombing that was conducted by unknown assailants.

Advertisements</s>Syrian local councils call for humanitarian corridor as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham ramps up FSA clashes in Idlib

A huge blast on Friday rocked the city of Idlib, a stronghold of an al-Qaida branch in northwestern Syria, killing at least 11 people, a war monitor reported.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights added that the cause of the explosion was not immediately clear.

Locals in Idlib said the blast had rocked the headquarters of the al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which controls the area.

One source, who requested anonymity citing security concerns, said the blast was caused by a car bombing that targeted the HTS headquarters in the city.

Seven of the 11 fatalities were fighters, Observatory head Rami Abdel-Rahman said.

Earlier this month, the al-Qaida's affiliate in Syria extended its control over an enclave previously held by the moderate National Liberation Front (NLF), after both sides reached a cease-fire deal ending their nine-day fight there.

Idlib is the capital city of the province of the same name, which is the last key opposition stronghold in Syria.

In September, Turkey and Russia reached a deal to establish a demilitarized buffer zone in the enclave, a move that prevented a major regime offensive there.</s>Picture of the car bomb that targeted HTS base in the southern part of Idlib city: At least 16 killed.</s>Here is a brief overview of how the current situation developed

As Turkey faces obstacles in the Syrian military operation it plans for Manbij and northeast Syria, drama is developing in Idlib province, where 12 Turkish posts overlook what is supposed to be a de-escalation zone.

Since the beginning of January, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham — a coalition of Islamist factions in northern Syria — has routed the opposition groups Turkey had merged under the banner of the National Liberation Front.

The clashes erupted Jan. 1 after the National Liberation Front’s Nour al-din al-Zenki Movement killed five Hayat Tahrir al-Sham fighters in Darat Izza, drawing in other National Liberation Front groups such as Ahrar al-Sham, Thuwar al-Sham and Biyareq al-Islam. For the National Liberation Front factions, the outcome was a debacle. In 10 days, they lost nearly 90 localities to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, greatly complicating the September deal Turkey and Russia had reached in Sochi to establish the de-escalation zone around Idlib in areas including parts of western Aleppo, northwestern Hama and northeastern Latakia.

Here is a brief overview of how the current situation developed.

On Jan. 2, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham captured Darat Izza and four other towns in western Aleppo and the National Liberation Front’s Nour al-din al-Zenki fighters took refuge in Turkey-controlled Afrin, leaving behind dozens of vehicles, including tanks. The National Liberation Front retaliated by taking three localities in southern Idlib from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

On Jan. 3, while clashes continued elsewhere, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham seized four localities in Hama province. The following day, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham also made advances also in western Aleppo, capturing Sinhar, al-Hutah and the military base in Sheikh Suleiman that had been Nour al-din al-Zenki’s main headquarters.</s>Once UK-backed and long one of the revolution's success stories, the force has been quietly dismantledThe Free Syrian Police, a symbol of the country's flagging revolution and a recipient of international support, has ceased operations following a militant takeover of Idlib province.Last week, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) fighters seized control of the majority of opposition-held northern Syria after days of clashes with rebel groups.As part of an HTS-rebel agreement to halt the fighting, all areas previously held by rebels not directly backed by Turkey fell under the governance of the militants' so-called National Salvation Government.Following the HTS takeover, the Free Syrian Police, without any official statement, stopped operating and apparently disbanded.The decision has been met with dismay by civilians, members of civil society and activists, who saw the unarmed and independent Free Police as a force for good.Bilal Zekra, the director of the local council in Maaret al-Nouman , a significant town in Idlib province's south now under HTS control, called on the force to continue its work. His call has not been successful.Zekra told Middle East Eye."The interruption of its work is a major disaster as it operates as a limb of the local council and helps solve civil conflicts among civilians."According to local media "There is a popular consensus that the Free Syrian Police's operations should continue, instead of deploying other elements likely to be connected to a military faction," Fadi Yassin, an activist in the southern Idlib town of Kafr Rumah, told MEE.The Free Syrian Police was formed in 2012, one year into the Syrian war, by policemen defecting from the government's force.For years it was funded by six western countries, and has been hailed as one of the Syrian revolution's success stories.However, a 2017 BBC documentary claimed that money donated to the force was ending up in the hands of militant groups. Last year, the British government axed its support of the police.The BBC's allegations have been described as "entirely inaccurate and misleading" by Adam Smith International, which manages the British-funded scheme that supported the police. The consultancy has previously been criticised for its handling of overseas contracts awarded to it by the UK government.A review found that of $20m in funds given to the Syrian Free Police, only $1,800 unwittingly fell into the hands of officers with links to militant groups.</s>To restore peace in Syria, Ankara asserted that provocative attempts to undermine the Idlib deal between Turkey and Russia wouldn't be allowed.

"Recently, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has been targeting the moderate opposition. We continue to take necessary measures against these provocations. We will not allow these provocations to undermine the Idlib deal," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said on Friday, stressing that Turkey expects cooperation from the international community for its efforts to maintain the deal.

Clashes between the HTS terrorist group and the moderate National Liberation Front (NLF), which is backed by the Turkish-assisted Free Syrian Army (FSA), in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib ended after the two groups agreed on a ceasefire on Jan. 10.

The clashes started in late December in Aleppo and intensified in the last two days, spreading to Idlib's north and southeast, including the western countryside of Aleppo province, the town of Atmeh, the tent area in Idlib and the northwestern Hama province.

As a result of the clashes, the NLF announced that it took control of the town of Salwa in the Idlib countryside, while the HTS announced that it took control of areas in Idlib's south, including al-Faqi, al-Fattirah, Sfouhan, Ourembe and Tarmalah.

Turkey designated the HTS as a terrorist group in August. The HTS is the most powerful terrorist alliance in Idlib, the last major opposition-controlled enclave outside of Bashar Assad's control. After the fall of Aleppo in November 2016, dozens of groups, including Ahrar al-Sham and the HTS, squeezed into Idlib.

"A great human tragedy was prevented by the Idlib, Syria deal. The deal won the appreciation of the international community," Aksoy stressed.

Idlib, located near the Turkish border, has been protected by a buffer zone implemented under a Turkish-Russian deal, known as the Sochi deal, reached in September.

Prior to this deal, the regime was preparing for a full-scale operation toward Idlib, which is home to over 3 million civilians.

Under the deal, opposition groups in Idlib a remain in areas where they are already present, while Russia and Turkey conduct joint patrols in these area to prevent renewed fighting.

However, recently some incidents have been raising concerns about stability in the city.

Last week, regime forces and Iranian-backed forces fired artillery into villages inside the de-escalation zone, killing at least one civilian. Local sources say the regime targeted villages in the countryside of the Homs and Idlib governorates.</s>The 'Free Syrian Police', a 3,300-person strong policing force which has received substantial support from the British and Dutch governments, has been dismantled after Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an alliance of jihadist groups including the Nusra Front,* took over the majority of Idlib province in recent infighting, Middle East Eye has reported.

The policing force was dissolved as part of the terms of an agreement between the jihadist and non-jihadist militants, with territories not governed directly by Turkey coming under the control of the militants' National Salvation Government, which controls much of Idlib.

"The damage in the region will not be limited now [that] the Free Syrian Police have stopped working on security, corruption and the spread of robberies and crimes, but a large number of police officers who are defectors from the Syrian government will be harmed and become unemployed, and this will damage society in general," Fadi Yassin, a resident and activist in the town of Kafr Rumah, told the outlet.

Half a dozen Western countries including the United Kingdom have provided support for the Free Syrian Police. Last month, the UK's Foreign Office accused the BBC of "inaccurate and misleading" reporting after it alleged that money going to the policing force has been going to Nusra Front terrorists instead.

Late last month, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said that Damascus's priority remains the liberation of Idlib province from the terrorist groups concentrated there. On January 8, Syrian media reported that additional troops had arrived in the provinces of Idlib, Aleppo and Hama to repel Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militant attacks amid terrorist threats to shell residential areas of Aleppo and conduct other provocative operations.

*Aka al-Qaeda in Syria. A terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries.</s>BEIRUT — Syrian opposition activists say an explosion outside an office belonging to an al-Qaida-linked group in the country’s northwestern has killed at least 11 people.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Smart news agency, an activist collective, said the blast occurred Friday on the southern edge of the rebel-held city of Idlib.

The blast comes a week after members of the al-Qaida-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Arabic for Levant Liberation Committee, or HTS, took over control of Idlib province and the surrounding countryside after forcing rival insurgents to accept a deal for a civil administration run by HTS in their areas.

The Observatory said 11 people were killed in the blast, including seven HTS members. Smart said 12 people were killed, many of them militants.</s>BEIRUT — An explosion outside an office belonging to an al Qaeda-linked group in the country’s northwestern on Friday killed at least 11 people and wounded several others, opposition activists said.

The blast comes a week after members of the al Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Arabic for Levant Liberation Committee, or HTS, took over control of wide parts of Idlib province and the surrounding countryside after forcing rival insurgents to accept a deal for a civil administration run by HTS in their areas.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Smart news agency, an activist collective, said the blast occurred on the southern edge of the rebel-held city of Idlib.

The Observatory said 11 people were killed in the blast, including seven HTS members. Smart said 12 people were killed, many of them militants.

In the country’s east, an air strike in the last area held by the Islamic State killed at least 20 people in the village of Baghouz, according to the state news agency SANA. The Observatory said 23 people were killed including 10 Islamic State members.

They both blamed the U.S.-led coalition that has been providing air cover to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in their months-long offensive to capture the area from extremists near the Iraqi border.

Meanwhile in Turkey, President Tayyip Erdogan met with U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham to discuss the situation in Syria as the United States prepares to withdraw troops.

Graham, a prominent voice on foreign affairs in the U.S., met with Erdogan and other Turkish officials Friday for talks that were also expected to include a proposal for the creation of a “safe zone” in northeast Syria.

The visit comes days after a suicide bombing, claimed by Islamic State, killed two U.S. service members and two American civilians in the northeastern town of Manbij.</s>BEIRUT (AP) — An explosion outside an office belonging to an al-Qaida-linked group in the country’s northwestern on Friday killed at least 11 people and wounded several others, opposition activists said.

The blast comes a week after members of the al-Qaida-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Arabic for Levant Liberation Committee, or HTS, took over control of wide parts of Idlib province and the surrounding countryside after forcing rival insurgents to accept a deal for a civil administration run by HTS in their areas.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Smart news agency, an activist collective, said the blast occurred on the southern edge of the rebel-held city of Idlib.

The Observatory said 11 people were killed in the blast, including seven HTS members. Smart said 12 people were killed, many of them militants.

In the country’s east, an airstrike in the last area held by the Islamic State group killed at least 20 people.

State news agency SANA said 20 people were killed in the airstrike on the IS-held village of Baghouz, while the Observatory said 23 people were killed including 10 IS members.

They both blamed the U.S.-led coalition that has been providing air cover to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in their monthslong offensive to capture the area from extremists near the Iraqi border.

The SDF has intensified its offensive over the past weeks on the IS-held area.

Meanwhile in Turkey, President Tayyip Erdogan met with U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham to discuss the situation in Syria as the United States prepares to withdraw troops.

Graham, a prominent voice on foreign affairs in the U.S., met with Erdogan and other Turkish officials Friday for talks that were also expected to include a proposal for the creation of a “safe zone” in northeast Syria.

The visit comes days after a suicide bombing, claimed by IS, killed two U.S. service members and two American civilians in the northeastern town of Manbij.

Graham has said he is concerned that U.S. President Donald Trump’s troop withdrawal announcement had emboldened Islamic State militants and created dangerous uncertainty for American allies.

The Pentagon identified three of the four Americans killed in the suicide bomb attack in Manbij — Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jonathan R. Farmer, 37, of Boynton Beach, Florida, who was based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky; Navy Chief Cryptologic Technician (Interpretive) Shannon M. Kent, 35, from upstate New York and based at Fort Meade, Maryland; and a civilian, Scott A. Wirtz, from St. Louis.
A massive explosion targetting a Tahrir al-Sham base in Idlib kills 15 people and wounds 20 others. A car bomb is reported to have been used in the attack.