BEIRUT— The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) alliance, led
by
Al-Qaeda's former Syria affiliate, on Wednesday welcomed the Taliban
takeover of Afghanistan, saying it hoped Syria's Islamist militants would also
be victorious.
اضافة اعلان
The armed group that formally broke ties with Al-Qaeda years
ago is considered to be the most prominent militant group in Syria after a
decade of war.
HTS controls nearly half of the Idlib region — the last
remaining opposition bastion in Syria — alongside other less influential
groups.
It said the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan following two
decades of US occupation was an example to follow.
"We congratulate our Taliban brothers and our people in
Afghanistan for this clear conquest, and ask God to also grant the Syrian
revolution victory," it said in a statement released on its social media
channels.
HTS formally cut ties with Al-Qaeda in 2016 in a rebranding
effort that saw it move closer to Syrian rebel groups in the country's
northwest.
But it is still widely seen as a hardline terrorist outfit
by activists and Idlib residents who have been subject to arbitrary arrests,
forced disappearances, and brutal killings at the hands of HTS fighters.
The Syrian government controls two thirds of the country
after 10 years of war.
The conflict has killed nearly half a million people and
forced half of Syria's pre-war population from their homes.
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