ISIS Bombs Meeting of Rival Islamic Front, Killing 28 Leaders

Bombing Took Out Most of Ahrar al-Sham's Leadership

A bombing tore through a house in northwestern Syria’s Idlib Province today, where the leaders of the Islamic Front’s largest faction, Ahrar al-Sham, had organized a meeting.

The blast killed at least 28 of the faction’s 50 attending leaders, and its chief, Hassan Aboud, was either seriously wounded or killed in the incident as well.

Ahrar al-Sham led the Islamic Front’s charge into ISIS territory earlier this year, and has accused ISIS of targeting their leadership in the past. There seems to be little question that today’s attack was more of ISIS handiwork.

The Ahrar al-Sham is funded predominantly by GCC member nations, primarily Kuwait, and aims to implement a strict form a Sharia law in Syria. Members of the group’s leadership have stated their long-time membership in al-Qaeda.

The leader most public in his al-Qaeda affiliation, Abu Khalif al-Suri, was assassinated by ISIS back in February, which led the group to push a more intense offensive against ISIS. It is unclear how well they will rebound this time, after losing such a large portion of their key leaders.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.