Around 150 Turkey-backed militants in Syria arrived in Idlib province on Thursday to reinforce militant group Ahrar al-Sham's escalating conflict with a rival Islamist insurgent group formerly known as the Nusra Front, a source told Reuters.
According to the report, Ahrar al-Sham and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a faction led by the formerly al Qaeda-affiliated group earlier known as the Nusra Front, are vying for dominance in Idlib, the only Syrian province that is entirely under terrorist control.
The fighting between Ahrar al-Sham, which is backed by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, and al-Qaeda-linked Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham is the first major escalation of infighting among terrorist groups since they reached a truce in February.
A militant source told Reuters a group of around 150 militants from the Turkey-backed Euphrates Shield operation had entered Syria at the Bab al-Hawa crossing from Turkey to support Ahrar al-Sham in its fight against the Nusra Front.
Bab al-Hawa, a major commercial and civilian gateway into terrorist-held Idlib, is controlled by Ahrar al-Sham.
Idlib has become the base for thousands of terrorists who fled Syria's largest city of Aleppo after facing a rout against government forces in December in their worst defeat since March 2011.
More clashes loom as the two sides are rushing militants to the frontlines, with the Associated Press news agency expressing worries that the infighting could affect their fight against Syrian troops who have been gaining ground over the past year.
