Al-Qaeda Leader Found Dead In Idlib City

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Syrian al-Qaeda leader found dead in Idlib

The Syrian leader of Al-Qaeda, Abu Muhammad Al-Shuhayl, has been found dead in downtown Idlib in what appears to be an assassination by poison.

Local residents found the lifeless body of the Al-Qaeda leader in his home on Saturday and he was officially pronounced dead shortly after.

Almasdarnews.com reports:  Abu Muhammad Al-Shuhayl was a founding member of Jabhat Al-Nusra (now known as Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham) and served as a high-ranking military commander up until his death.

His death follows several days of infighting with Ahrar al-Sham, a rival group to Al-Qaeda’s Syrian franchise branch, Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS).

In previous months, HTS has also cracked down on Islamic State sleeper cells across rural Idlib along with any Free Syrian Army (FSA) group opposed to its strict Sharia implementations.