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On April 13, two people were killed and another was wounded when a gunman opened fire in the Syrian city of Idlib, which is held by al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
The shooting attack took place in the heart of the city, in the al-Jalaa street near the al-Sa’aa roundabout. The gunman reportedly opened fire at a number of retail stores before taking shelter at a nearby building.
After encircling the building, HTS’s security forces shot and killed the gunman. The terrorist group claimed that the man refused to surrender.
#عاجل | اللحظات الأولية لمحاصرة القاتل والذي يشتبه انتمائه الى” تنظيم الدولة “في وسط مدينة #إدلب.#تلفزيون_إدلب ldlib TV pic.twitter.com/aZwfhEob5A
— تلفزيون إدلب Idlib TV (@TvIdlib) April 13, 2022
A number of Syrian opposition activists claimed that the gunman was a member of ISIS, which is known to be present and active in the Greater Idlib region.
The terrorist group carried out similar attacks in Idlib city in the past. On 1 March 2019, a member of ISIS opened fire then blew himself up inside a local restaurant in the center of the city, killing five people and wounding 20 others. Some of the casualties were reportedly members of HTS.
It’s worth noting that ISIS former leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi was killed during a US raid on his hideout in Greater Idlib on February 3. Back then, the Istanbul-based Syria TV reported that HTS, the de-facto ruler of the entire region, was given “heads up” before the raid.
The deadly shooting attack in Idlib city, which highlights the poor security situation in Greater Idlib, may have been orchestrated by ISIS as a response to HTS’s allege role in the US raid that claimed the life of Abu Ibrahim.