The Idlib insurgency was an insurgency during the Syrian civil war in Idlib Governorate between multiple factions. The conflict was primarily between the supporters of Syrian Salvation Government and forces loyal to Syrian Arab Republic. Other factions participating in insurgency range from the Syrian opposition forces in the Syrian National Army, supported by Turkey, to supporters of Al-Qaeda branch Hurras al-Din and members of the Islamic State. The insurgency was marked by assassinations and bombings, as well as armed confrontations with small arms and raids.
Initial fighting (2011-2015) Beginning of clashes
On 29 June 2011, Syrian troops killed at least four civilians as army tanks and helicopters attacked a village in the northwestern province of Idlib, according to a Syrian human rights activist. Then in July, the Syrian government deployed more troops to the region, first on 2 July, then later again on 4 July following massive anti-government protests. Nightly protests continued despite the military siege.
On 8 September 2011, military clashes began when government security forces abducted the 74-year-old Muhammad Harmoush, who was the brother of army defector Lieutenant Colonel Hussein Harmoush, one of the first defecting officers. Muhammad Harmoush's body was later returned to his family, with three military defectors and six government soldiers reportedly killed. A few weeks later on 29 September, the Harmoush Battalion of the Free Syrian Army claimed responsibility for an attack on security forces in the Jabal Zawiya area, killing a number of security personnel.
Government defense
By 21 December 2011, it was reported that the Free Syrian Army had taken control over large swathes of Idlib province including some towns and villages. On 16 February 2012, Russian sources reported that several of the Idlib neighbourhoods fell under the control of armed groups who were looting government buildings and private offices. The LCC reported that a massacre took place in the city, with 38 people killed, most in the Muhameel, allegedly executed by Syrian Army. Heavy tank fire was also reported in the area. Several days later, FSA gunmen killed a state prosecutor and a judge.
In March 2012, following a battle in the city of Idlib, sources from both sides reported that government forces had recaptured the city. By the end of 17 March, the AFP, Associated Press, Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya had also reported that the city was recaptured by the Syrian Army. Soon afterwards, government forces also recaptured neighboring towns in the Idlib province, including Sarmin and Killi.
Restart of hostilities
In early April 2012, the clashes briefly paused as a result of a ceasefire from the Kofi Annan Syrian peace plan, but the plan soon fell apart and fighting later resumed. By early June, the area of al-Ghab plain near Idlib was reportedly under opposition control, along with surrounding towns such as Jisr al-Shughour in the north and Tell Salhab in the south. However, Idlib proper was still being held by government forces.
On 8 October 2012, opposition forces launched an offensive to capture the strategically significant town of Maarrat al-Nu'man, where government reinforcements from Damascus heading toward Aleppo would need to pass through. By the next day, the opposition had captured all of the government checkpoints around the city except one at the entrance, and the town came fully under opposition control by 10 October.
On 20 January 2013, the Free Syrian Army began a coordinated attack on Idlib, successfully capturing several checkpoints in the western parts of the city. Opposition forces from Hish also captured part of the M5 motorway and severed the connection between Aleppo and Hama for government forces.
Opposition victory
Intra-opposition fighting (2015-2024) 2015
2016
On 31 March 2016, the Army of Conquest coalition claimed to have captured members of a cell belonging to Jaysh al-Thuwar, an Arab component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Idlib that was reportedly conducting assassinations and kidnappings in the area.
On 4 October 2016, Ahrar al-Sham arrested an alleged ISIL cell affiliated with Jund al-Aqsa, which later retaliated by arresting some Ahrar al-Sham members, allegedly beating the wife, and shooting the brother of one member in the process. Two days later, Ahrar al-Sham gave an ultimatum to Jund al-Aqsa to release the captured members. Jund al-Aqsa countered by asking for Ahrar al-Sham to release the captive Jund al-Aqsa members that were alleged to be a part of ISIL.
2017
On 16 June 2017, a suicide bomber attempted to assassinate Saudi cleric Abdullah al-Muhaysini, who was serving on Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)'s Sharia component and had left a mosque in Idlib. In an online video after the attack, Muhaysini said that he was uninjured and explained that an individual had approached his car, wore an explosive belt, and blew himself up.
On 24 July 2017, during fighting between Ahrar al-Sham and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, car bombs were detonated in Idlib that reportedly killed 50 HTS members and had belonged to Ahrar al-Sham.
2018
In February 2018, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham accused the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement of planting IEDs and of assassinating HTS members in Idlib, which later led to an armed conflict between them.
On 26 April 2018, the HTS commander Abu al-Ward Kafer Batikh and his bodyguards were killed in Ma'arrat al-Nu'man. On the same day, Abu Salim Binnish, a Syrian Liberation Front (SLF) commander was killed by gunmen in Binnish.
On 28 April, a Free Syrian Police commander was killed by an IED in northern Idlib. Hours later, pro-opposition activists reported that two members of Jaysh al-Izza had been killed by unidentified gunmen in Khan Shaykhun and that a commander belonging to Jaysh al-Ahrar had been killed the same day. In response, an HTS security official accused Ahrar al-Sham of carrying out the assassinations.
In May 2018, HTS claimed to have detained members of an all-female assassination cell in Idlib that were loyal to the Syrian government and had even recruited by Russia.
On 18 June 2018, Jaysh al-Ahrar's deputy commander was killed by gunmen in Saraqib after he had prayed at a mosque. The group released a statement saying that the assassins were unknown individuals.
On 22 June, a senior HTS leader, Abu Khadija Bilal al-Khuraisat, was killed by gunmen in Tarmala. On the same day, Jaysh al-Ahrar and the Sham Legion arrested the leader of ISIL's Idlib Province.
On 29 July, three SLF members were killed in Ma'arrat al-Nu'man. The group claimed the assassination had been carried out by spies belonging to the Syrian government.
2019
In January 2019, an ISIL-linked media group called the Muhajireen Foundation, which provides reports on events that effect displaced ISIL fighters in Syria, released a statement warning displaced ISIL fighters in Idlib to avoid gatherings because of crackdowns by HTS and Al-Qaeda's Syrian branch: the Guardians of Religion Organization.
On 18 January 2019, a car bomb exploded at an HTS checkpoint in Idlib and reportedly resulted in the death of 10 HTS militants. On the same day, gunmen wounded three HTS fighters, and a Jaysh al-Izza commander was killed after a bomb detonated that had been placed into his car by an unknown group.
On 29 January, a female suicide bomber HTS believed to be affiliated with ISIL attacked the headquarters of the Syrian Salvation Government. After fighting the guards outside, she blew herself up, wounding a number of people. The group's Amaq News Agency later denied being involved with the attack.
In March 2019, HTS executed several ISIL members believed to be behind drive-by shootings, assassinations, and bombings in Idlib city. HTS reportedly installed security cameras around the city to monitor the area.
On 5 March 2019, HTS raided an ISIL compound in Atarib and captured an ISIL commander as well as several stockpiles of small arms, munitions, as well as bomb making materials and explosives already manufactured by ISIL.
On 14 March, several ISIL members escaped from an HTS prison, reportedly after a series of Russian airstrikes in the area.
In August 2019, the ISIL-linked Muhajireen Foundation published an infographic showing three separate HTS activities against ISIL in Idlib. The infographic announced that several individuals held by HTS were executed publicly for allegedly belonging to ISIL and carrying out bombings. The report also included a report that two individuals were arrested in Nayrab for planting IEDs on behalf of ISIL. The report also stated that HTS raided the military headquarters of the Guardians of Religion Organization and its ally Ansar al-Tawhid, which is made up of former Jund al-Aqsa elements, in a town near Jisr al-Shughur, and arrested two Egyptians from both groups for having ties to ISIL.
On 5 August, a Tunisian commander of the Guardians of Religion Organization was assassinated by unknown perpetrators in Taftanaz, and some pro-opposition activists claiming the assassins were ISIL-linked.
2020
On 18 March 2020, as part of a ceasefire arrangement after a Syrian government offensive in Idlib, Turkish troops entered the de-escalation zone to reopen the M4 highway previously blocked by HTS and other jihadist factions. On the same day, an Ahrar al-Sham commander was killed after a roadside bomb went off while he was driving near Jisr al-Shughur.
On 19 March, two Turkish soldiers were killed and a third was wounded by an attack that the Turkish Defense Ministry claimed had been carried out by unnamed radical groups. The Guardians of Religion Organization was accused of carrying out the attack.
On 24 March, a mine detonated while a Turkish military convoy was passing through the town of Sufahan in southern Idlib on the M4 highway, which resulted in two Turkish soldiers wounded. On the same day, unknown gunmen tried to kidnap a rebel commander of Jabhat Thuwar Saraqib in Idlib city and wounded him by gunshot.
On 30 March, a judge affiliated with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham was killed, along with another individual with him in an IED attack in Idlib.
On 4 April, an Ahrar al-Sham field commander was killed by a mine in Sufahan.
On 13 April, protestors who were demonstrating against Turkish forces patrolling the M4 highway, as part of a ceasefire agreement with Russia, were broken up by Turkish military personnel. In response fighters from HTS, which supported the protests, opened fire on the Turkish military. After the incident, the HTS fighters involved in the shootings were reprimanded by their command. Ut has been the first reported incident of aggressive actions between HTS and Turkish forces in Syria, but HTS had reportedly stopped Russian patrols and acted aggressively towards them since the implementation of the agreement between Turkey and Russia regarding Idlib.
On the same day, following the incident between HTS and the Turkish military, HTS arrested a commander from Faylaq al-Sham, a Turkish-backed rebel group, and members of his National Front for Liberation. The National Front for Liberation members were reportedly heading to frontlines in Saraqib when they were arrested at an HTS checkpoint in the town of Neyrab, near Saraqib.
On 16 April, an unknown aircraft attacked a jihadist vehicle killing three rebels from Jaish al-Nasr in the al-Ghaab plain. The aircraft was supposedly a Russian drone according to Al Masdar News and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.