ALBAWABA - A photo circulated on social media, claiming that it shows the body of Abu Muhammad al-Julani, leader of the Hay’et Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group which recently carried out the Aleppo offensive.
According to the claims, Abu Muhammad al-Julani was allegedly killed in an airstrike targeting him inside his hideout in Idlib days ahead of the "Deterrence of Aggression" operation against the Syrian regime.
Another alleged statement, which was falsely attributed to the Hay’et Tahrir al-Sham group, reportedly confirmed the death of Ahmed Hussein al-Shar’a, also referred to as Abu Mohammad al-Julani. However, CNN reported that it is an edited photo.
The opposition group announced in a statement an operation called "Deterrence of Aggression" against Bashar Assad, Syrian President, and the regime. First, fighters began entering several towns and cities in the surrounding areas of Aleppo. Then they were seen inside Aleppo with the latest they had taken control of the international airport.
Misbar clarifies the truth behind alleged photo of Abu Mohammad al-Julani
Misbar, an investigative website, confirmed that the photo is an old one and it doesn't show the body of Abu Mohammad al-Julani. But it shows an ISIS leader killed in Homs countryside in 2015.
The photo was published by news outlets and websites affiliated with the Syrian regime, claiming that it belongs to a person nicknamed "Abu Al-Qaqa Al-Tawhidi," who was killed in 2015 during an airstrike carried out by the regime army at the time on ISIS sites in the city of Al-Qaryatayn in the eastern Homs countryside.
Nonetheless, Al Arabiya quoted statements by the director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdul Rahman, in which he said, "All this news is baseless," adding, "Several raids targeted multiple locations in Idlib, but they were far from Al-Julani’s headquarters," according to what he said were informed sources.
*Written by Sally Shakkour
