Jihadist sources said that a leading Iraqi jihadist leader in Syria's rebel-held northwest who founded a former al-Qaida affiliate was killed on Thursday when a suicide bomber blew himself up in the deceased's guest house.
The Observatory, which has a network of contacts in Syria, did not provide additional information regarding the suicide bomber's identity.
Top Iraqi Jihadist Killed in Syria Suicide Bombing
A former al-Qaida affiliate, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which rules Syria's last main rebel bastion, on its affiliated Amjad media outlet said that Abu Maria al-Qahtani was martyred after a treacherous attack by an Islamic State group member using an explosive-laden belt.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, war monitor Qahtani, whose real name is Maysar Ali Musa Abdallah al-Juburi, was killed, and two of his companions were seriously injured after a suicide bomber blew himself up.
In social media posts, HTS confirmed Qahtani's passing and placed the blame on ISIS, an ideological rival militant group.
According to the sources who requested to remain anonymous, several others were injured. So far, no group has claimed responsibility for Qahtani's killing.
Qahtani was one of the most influential jihadists of HTS and a founding member of the Al-Nusra front, the group's former iteration.
HTS rules over about half of the province of Idlib, along with parts of nearby Hama, Aleppo, and Latakia.
US sanctions have been imposed on Qahtani since 2012. The US Treasury claimed that Qahtani had gone to Syria in 2011 to spread the ideology of al-Qaida before taking on prominent positions in the al-Nusra Front.
The monitor said that he was killed not long after being freed from an HTS prison where he had been held for seven months on charges of working with an enemy party.
Insurgent Qahtani fought against US soldiers in Iraq after the US-led invasion of the country in 2003. He relocated to Syria in 2011 to support rebels opposing the autocratic government of Syrian President Bashar al Assad.
Following a fallout with the HTS leadership, Qahtani was imprisoned for six months on charges of interacting with prohibited groups and was released from prison last month.
Russian and Syrian militaries have long targeted Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which is considered a terrorist organization by the US.
It faces competition from mainstream rebel groups supported by Turkey, which also holds large land areas in northwest Syria near the Turkish border.
Al-Qaida in Arabian Peninsula Confirms Leader Khalid Batarfi's Death
According to an intelligence service monitoring armed group networks worldwide, Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has announced the passing of its commander, Khalid Batarfi, and named a successor.
A late-Sunday report from SITE Intelligence Group said that the cause of Batarfi's death was not stated in an AQAP statement. It claimed that the new leader would be Saad bin Atef al-Awlaki.
SITE quoted an AQAP veteran as saying of Batarfi in a nearly 15-minute video, saying that God took his soul. At the same time, he patiently sought his reward and stood firm, immigrated, garrisoned, and waged jihad.
The video displayed the black-and-white al-Qaeda flag beside Batarfi, wrapped in a white funeral shroud.
