7 White Helmets medics killed in Syria’s Idlib
BEIRUT — Gunmen early Saturday stormed an office of a Syrian paramedic group that is active in opposition-controlled areas, killing seven of its members and stealing two vehicles and other equipment in a northwestern region, the group and opposition activists said, while a suicide attack south of the country killed at least 23 rebels.
The Syrian Civil Defence group, more popularly known as the White Helmets, said in a statement that the attack happened in the early hours in the town of Sarmin.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the rare attack but it came amid tension in the area. Sarmin is in Idlib province, which witnessed clashes recently between al-Qaida-linked fighters and members of the ultraconservative Ahrar al-Sham group that ended with al-Qaida fighters capturing much of the region.
The al-Qaida-linked Hay’at Tahrir al Sham — Arabic for Levant Liberation Committee, and also known as HTS — said over the past weeks that its members have discovered sleepers cells of the Islamic State group who were planning an attack. Al-Qaida’s affiliate, which used by to be known as the Nusra Front, has fought deadly battles with IS over the past years.