Illustrative image.
Professor Noureddine Ghafir who was killed in the September 7 strikes on Syrian city of Idlib was secretly working as an official in al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
Ghafir held a PhD in accounting and finance. He was one of the very first founders of the HTS-run Idlib University and a lecturer in the International University for Science and Renaissance. His links to the terrorist group were unknown to the public before his death.
News sources in Greater Idlib and the Western-backed White Helmets civil defense organization reported the strikes that the killed Ghafir and three other people as an indiscriminate attack on civilians in Idlib city. The Syrian Arab Army was blamed for the strikes.
The truth surfaced soon after the strikes. Pro-government sources revealed that Ghafir was assassinated because he was a secret official of HTS. Photos released by opposition activists confirmed these claims.
🍃 أَفْلَحَ الْوُجه 🍃
📰 استشهاد الدكتور “نور الدين غفير” وولده “مجد الدين” جراء القصف الصاروخي الذي استهدف مدينة إدلب.
إنا لله وإنا إليه راجعون
الدكتور -تقبله الله- من الدكاترة المؤسسين لجامعة إدلب.#فريق_مجاهدون pic.twitter.com/6JNNNC2iml— ثابت الغزي (@SbmjMS3nXS7DzvE) September 8, 2021
In one of the photos Ghafir can be seen touring what appears to be frontline positions along with commanders and fighters of HTS’ Talha bin Obaid Allah Brigade.
The strikes which claimed the life of Ghafir were carried out with precision-guided munitions, reportedly Russian-made 2K25 Krasnopol laser-guided artillery rounds.
The assassination of Ghafir was a major blow to HTS and its secret network in Greater Idlib. The group was apparently recruiting highly-educated radicals in secret and using them to brighten up its image inside and outside the Syrian region.
