A drone targeted a car at the entrance to the city of Binnish in the Idleb countryside amidst rumors of “the assassination of leaders of the Guardians of Religion Organization.”
On Monday, an Al-Souria Net correspondent in Idleb reported that military surveillance “monitored a reconnaissance flight coinciding with the drone strike on the car, east of Binnish.”
To date, no information has emerged about whether there were any deaths as a result of the drone strike or the drone’s identity.
In contrast, jihadi accounts on Telegram reported that the drone had targeted a car carrying leaders of al-Qaeda’s Guardians of Religion Organization.
“Sources believe that the targeted car was carrying three leaders of the Guardians of Religion Organization,” said Charles Lester, a researcher on jihadist groups, on Twitter.
Idlib governorate has witnessed similar strikes in recent years.
The strikes were all targeting leaders within the Guardians of Religion Organization, which is spreading to small groups in northwestern Syria.
The Guardians of Religion Organization was founded in February 2018 after the original branch of al-Qaeda in Syria disintegrated. The group formed alongside Ansar al-Din and Ansar al-Islam as a center for operations and encouraging believers.”
In September 2019, the U.S. State Department’s outreach team posted on its Twitter account that it would offer a cash reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the capture of three leaders from the al-Qaeda terrorist group, the Guardians of Religion, in Syria.”
“The three figures have been active in al-Qaeda for many years, and continue to support its leader Ayman al-Zawahiri,” the outreach team said.