Recently there have been tensions between Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and some of the small foreign-fighter-led groups based in the Jabal al-Turkoman area of northeast Latakia province. These groups are officially 'independent' but HTS accuses them of harbouring criminal and extremist elements. For critics of HTS, these accusations are a mere pretext to dismantle independent jihadist groups as part of implementing the wider Turkish-Russian project for the region, while eliminating foreign fighters from the northwest region in general. The Islamic State editorial issued this week in its al-Naba' newsletter pushes this line and says its leaders warned about the threat posed to the foreign fighters years ago.
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