Commander of US-sanctioned group badly injured in attack in northern Syria
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Mohammad Al-Hayis, a senior commander of the notorious Turkish-backed Ahrar al-Sharqiyah group was seriously injured on Saturday in an attack by an unidentified armed man near Serekaniye (Ras al-Ain) in northeast Syria.
According to a Euphrates Post report, Al-Hayis, the brother of Ahrar al-Sharqiya commander Abu Hatem Shaqra, was injured in the town of Tal Halaf on his way home.
He was reportedly transferred to Turkey for treatment.
The assassination attempt comes amidst Turkish threats to launch a new operation against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Ahrar Sharqiya stands accused of various human rights abuses and violations in northern Syria.
Founded by Abu Maria al-Qahtani, who split
The Turkish-backed rebel group was first established in the eastern Syrian province of Deir al-Zor by Abu Maria al-Qahtani after he split from Al-Qaeda’s infamous Nusra Front.
Its militants previously threatened, insulted, and ultimately drove out a small number of US special forces from the northern town of al-Rai in September 2016.
It has also regularly fought against other Turkish-backed groups during skirmishes in territory under Ankara’s control.
Ahrar Sharqiya also summarily executed Kurdish female politician Hevrin Khalaf in mid-October 2019 during Turkey’s cross-border offensive against the SDF. Kurdistan 24 was one of the first to report on the incident on October 12, 2019.
Read More: Senior female Kurdish political leader killed in ambush in Syria
In July, the US sanctioned the Ahrar al-Sharqiya for human rights violations against ethnic Kurds and for integrating several former Islamic State (ISIS) members into its ranks.
At the time, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also confirmed in a statement that the group “has been implicated in the unlawful killing of Hevrin Khalaf.”
Also on Oct. 22, a US airstrike killed Abdul Hamid al-Matar, a senior al-Qaeda leader, in Suluk, a town controlled by Ahrar al-Sharqiya.