Hurras al-Din Attacks Turkish Forces in Northwest Syria

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militants in the northwest of Syria (AFP)
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militants in the northwest of Syria (AFP)
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Hurras al-Din Attacks Turkish Forces in Northwest Syria

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militants in the northwest of Syria (AFP)
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militants in the northwest of Syria (AFP)

Signs of confrontations emerged Thursday in the countryside of Idlib province between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and Hurras al-Din amid the criticism of a human rights network over violations committed in the northwest of Syria.

A pro-opposition website said that Hurras al-Din attacked Turkish soldiers on the M4 highway.

Earlier, the Turkish Defense Ministry said two Turkish soldiers were killed and others were injured in Idlib in a rocket attack by "some radical groups" on the Aleppo-Latakiya road.

“The attack on the M4 highway was carried out by Hurras al-Din group, formerly a member of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham,” the pro-opposition Zaman al-Wasl website quoted sources as saying.

Following the attack, fierce clashes erupted on the highway between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and an unidentified group.

Hurras al-Din is known for its rejection of the agreement signed between Turkey and Russia in Idlib.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) revealed in its report released Thursday that Hurras al-Din is responsible for kidnapping and forcibly disappearing six activists working for relief organizations in Idlib.

The network urged the release of the detainees, the activists, and the prisoners of conscience as a precaution from the coronavirus.

In its five-page report, the group also outlined the history of the establishment of Hurras al-Din in February 2018, with the group’s leaders founding it after their defection from al-Nusra Front.

The report noted that Hurras al-Din controls four secret detention centers with approximately 113 detainees, based on the accounts of a number of former detainees who were released by the group.

“The group often does not claim responsibility for the kidnappings or detentions it carries out in order to avoid unnecessary antagonism with local communities,” SNHR said.

The report accused Hurras al-Din of committing widespread violations of international human rights law against the people in the areas under its control through kidnappings, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, and unfair rulings issued by courts that in no way comply with the basic rules of fair trials.

It called on the international community and the Security Council to accelerate the political transition process towards democracy in Syria to expedite the process of ending extremist groups, which live on wars and conflicts.



Trump Warns Iran It Will Face ‘Consequences’ of Further Attacks from Yemen’s Houthis

A man inspects the rubble of a house hit by a US strike on the weekend in Yemen's northern Saada province on March 17, 2025. (AFP)
A man inspects the rubble of a house hit by a US strike on the weekend in Yemen's northern Saada province on March 17, 2025. (AFP)
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Trump Warns Iran It Will Face ‘Consequences’ of Further Attacks from Yemen’s Houthis

A man inspects the rubble of a house hit by a US strike on the weekend in Yemen's northern Saada province on March 17, 2025. (AFP)
A man inspects the rubble of a house hit by a US strike on the weekend in Yemen's northern Saada province on March 17, 2025. (AFP)

US President Donald Trump on Monday explicitly linked the actions of Yemen's Houthi militias to their main benefactor, Iran, warning Tehran would “suffer the consequences” for further attacks by the militants.

The comments by Trump on his Truth Social website escalate his administration's new campaign of airstrikes targeting the militias, which killed at least 53 people this weekend alone and appear poised to continue. Meanwhile, Iran continues to weigh how to respond to a letter Trump sent them last week trying to jump-start negotiations over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program.

Houthi supporters themselves rallied in several cities Monday after the strikes, vowing revenge against America and Israel over blocking aid to the Gaza Strip after its war on Hamas there.

“The Yemeni position is an irreversible position (regarding Gaza), so do whatever you (Americans) want, for we are men who fear no one but God," said Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a Houthi leader who spoke to the demonstration in Yemen's Houthi-held capital, Sanaa.

Describing the Houthis as “sinister mobsters and thugs,” Trump warned any attack by the militias would be met with “great force, and there is no guarantee that that force will stop there.”

“Iran has played ‘the innocent victim’ of rogue terrorists from which they’ve lost control, but they haven’t lost control,” Trump alleged in his post. “They’re dictating every move, giving them the weapons, supplying them with money and highly sophisticated Military equipment, and even, so-called, 'Intelligence.'”

It's unclear what sparked Trump's post. However, the head of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard sought to separate the Houthis' actions from those of Tehran this weekend. The Houthis also launched drones and missiles targeting the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier in the Red Sea, though none reached the ship as it continues flight operations in the region.

Iran did not immediately comment on the post.

“Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon, from this point forward, as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of IRAN, and IRAN will be held responsible, and suffer the consequences, and those consequences will be dire!” Trump added.

The Houthis attacked over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors, from November 2023 until January this year when a ceasefire began in Gaza.

The Houthis claimed there had been additional US airstrikes overnight, though American officials did not immediately acknowledge them.

World Food Program warehouse raided by Houthis

In Saada province, the Houthis' stronghold, the militias raided a warehouse run by the World Food Program. A member of Yemen's legitimate government first reported the Houthis had been taking supplies from the facility without the WFP's permission in the aftermath of the US airstrikes. The United Nations agency later acknowledged the Houthis' actions to The Associated Press.

“WFP regrets the de facto authorities' decision to seize some of the commodities,” it said. “These commodities were intended for the most vulnerable food-insecure families. Only WFP and its partners have the authority to distribute them and ensure they reach the intended recipients.”

Yemen, at war since the Houthis seized Sanaa back in 2014, has been on the precipice of famine for years. But the UN in February suspended its operations in Saada over security concerns following the detentions by the Houthis of dozens of UN workers and others in recent months. A day later, the WFP announced one of its staffers died while imprisoned by the Houthis.