Reports emerging on Sunday suggest that Abu Mohammad al-Julani, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), may have been killed in a Russian airstrike. While images circulating on social media purportedly show his body, these claims have not been independently confirmed.
Since 2016, Aleppo had remained under the control of the Assad regime, which, with Russian military backing, successfully ousted rebel forces from the city. HTS, a U.S.-designated terrorist group, recently launched a significant offensive against the Assad regime, seizing parts of Aleppo in a notable escalation of the conflict.
On Sunday, the Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed that its air force had targeted Syrian rebel positions in Aleppo and Idlib provinces, striking militant concentrations, command centers, arms depots, and artillery positions in support of the Syrian government.
Al-Julani, who has led HTS since its formation in 2017 following the merger of several jihadist factions, has attempted to moderate the group’s image in recent years, distancing it from extremist ideologies and seeking to present HTS as a more acceptable force to the West. Despite these efforts, HTS remains deeply involved in Syria’s ongoing civil war, fighting against both the Assad regime and foreign forces.