Yesterday saw an intriguing incident outside al-Bab in northern #Aleppo:
- A prominent member of a pro-#HTS [semi-breakaway] wing of Ahrar al-Sham, Saddam al-Mousa (Abu Uday) was killed outside his home in what was described as a "drone strike."
- A prominent member of a pro-#HTS [semi-breakaway] wing of Ahrar al-Sham, Saddam al-Mousa (Abu Uday) was killed outside his home in what was described as a "drone strike."
Abu Uday had become notorious for facilitating #HTS's advance into northern #Aleppo in Oct 2022 -- & in its wake, he secured control of the valuable al-Hamran crossing (to #SDF areas) & agreed to share its revenue streams with #HTS.
He was also a known player in the arms trade.
He was also a known player in the arms trade.
Abu Day's stubborn refusal to back down & turn al-Hamran back to the Syrian National Army (SNA) had become a source of acute frustration for #Turkey -- both #TSK & MIT.
Numerous attempts were made to evict him, by force & negotiation & their failure was grating Turkey-SNA ties.
Numerous attempts were made to evict him, by force & negotiation & their failure was grating Turkey-SNA ties.
What's most intriguing about Abu Uday's death is that this doesn't appear to have been the work of a U.S. drone.
Reliable local sources are attributing the strike to #Turkey -- while pro-#HTS sources claim a small drone came from regime areas run by the elite 4th Division.
Reliable local sources are attributing the strike to #Turkey -- while pro-#HTS sources claim a small drone came from regime areas run by the elite 4th Division.
Images from the scene show a very small impact crater -- no signs of an explosive or inert U.S. Hellfire.
#Turkey had clear motive to remove Abu Uday, but doing so itself would raise serious risks of sparking hostility from #HTS & suspicion from others. It doesn't need that now.
#Turkey had clear motive to remove Abu Uday, but doing so itself would raise serious risks of sparking hostility from #HTS & suspicion from others. It doesn't need that now.
Is there a chance this was done in concert with pro-#Assad forces? We've already seen strong indications of #Turkey-#Assad coordinated strikes/hits on #PKK targets in the #Aleppo region.
We'll likely never know, but this strike raises some intriguing - even if unanswerable - Qs.
We'll likely never know, but this strike raises some intriguing - even if unanswerable - Qs.
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