Abu Jaber al-Sheikh on the right side, Click to see full-size image
The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) injured the Ahrar al-Sham Movement’s General Leader Abu Jaber al-Sheikh on March 21, according to several opposition sources.
Al-Sheikh was reportedly inspecting Ahrar al-Sham’s positions in the hill of Khidir in the northern Lattakia countryside when the army shelled the area. As a result, al-Sheikh and one of his military commanders, Abu Khalid Daraa, sustained minor injuries.
Syrian opposition activists said that al-Sheikh and Abu Khalid are now recovering. Senior militant leaders are usually transported to hospitals in southern Turkey for medical treatment. It is unclear if this was the case with al-Sheikh.
Abu Jaber al-Sheikh, whose real name is Hashim al-Sheikh, replaced Hasan Sufan as the leader of the Ahrar al-Sham Movement last August. The radical leader is known for his close relations with Turkey and for leading some battles against Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in 2017 and 2018.
It remains unclear if the SAA had really planned to assassinate al-Sheikh or if this was just a coincident. In both cases, the attack was a warning to the Ahrar al-Sham Movement.
