Last week, Turkish officials met members of Jabhat Al Nusra and presented them with an ultimatum: the group had to either dissolve itself – and members join other factions individually – or face a rebel assault backed by Ankara.
The objective, according to reports in Arabic media, was to protect Idlib, where the group is perceived to be dominating, from an attack by the regime and its Russian and Iranian allies. An insider source confirmed the visit, saying that at least two members of the group were "summoned" to Istanbul to hold meetings with officials there. "They were given very serious conditions to meet," he said. "They left displeased, to say the least."
The move follows a series of developments involving Turkey's new policy in northwestern Syria after the expulsion of the Kurdish militias from their stronghold in Afrin.
The Turkish proposal was designed to address the issue of Jabhat Al Nusra's dominance in Idlib, where the group was exempted from a de-escalation deal in various areas agreed by Turkey, Russia and Iran. Since the expulsion of Kurdish militias from Afrin, Idlib has become more beneficial for Turkey than before. The reason is related to its proximity to Kurdish towns in northwestern Syria, which provide another layer of security for Turkish-backed forces and help create a contiguous sphere of influence for Ankara.
But Jabhat Al Nusra, known as Hayat Tahrir Al Sham after rebranding last year, presents a dilemma for Turkey. On one hand, the group’s dominance creates an awkward situation for Turkey: it makes Idlib vulnerable to a regime assault and continues to raise Western concerns about a sanctuary for an Al Qaeda organisation. On the other hand, the group has reached out to Turkey and reassured it about its future intentions. The group also has a communication channel with Turkey that has enabled the two to co-ordinate, particularly since October.
Despite an existing agreement with Russia and complaints from the Syrian regime, Hayat Tahrir Al Sham’s militants escorted Turkish forces as they entered Idlib to establish checkpoints as part of the de-escalation monitoring process. The turn of events in October followed earlier rumours that Turkey was planning to expel the group from Idlib with the help of rebel forces opposed to it.
The meeting with Turkish officials last week was connected to two other efforts by Turkey in that region and builds on the events in October.
The first is an agreement between Hayat Tahrir Al Sham and rebel factions to end two months of fighting in Idlib. The truce happened in the backdrop of a meeting in Istanbul and was part of Turkey’s push for the two sides to end infighting and discuss ways to resolve the conundrum presented by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham.
The second is a stated effort by Turkey to "professionalise" rebel militias operating in northern Syria with military-style legions. This effort became more pronounced with the operation in Afrin, where Turkey, at least publicly, insisted on the involvement of fighters as part of a "national army" rather than as whole militias.
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Read more from Hassan Hassan:
Turkey is planting the seeds for future catastrophe in Syria
How Qatar made a conscious decision to engage with extremists
The ISIS triangle which allows militants to disappear
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While the forces were far from disciplined or organised military units, a new Turkish approach was clear. Turkey has demonstrated in recent months that it was no longer committed to the sponsorship of a rebel faction as a standalone proxy. In the past, for example, Turkey worked with groups like Ahrar Al Sham as proxy forces and invested in their survival as such.
When Ahrar Al Sham’s leadership was decapitated in an attack in 2014, for example, Ankara quickly helped to revive the remaining group with logistical and financial support. By contrast, Turkey stood by as the same group came under assault by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham last year. It also refused to back Ahrar Al Sham when it and other forces declared war against Hayat Tahrir Al Sham in February.
In other words, Turkey has shown no interest recently in playing the old game of supporting ragtag militias to fight the Syrian regime. Instead, it has moved to create loyalist forces organised under new units for the main purpose of securing its borders and ensuring that the YPG, the Kurdish militias that it regards as an affiliate of the PKK, do not carve out sanctuaries in northern Syria.
Idlib has become a vital terrain to achieve this objective. Also, Turkey considers an all-out fight against Hayat Tahrir Al Sham to be a side issue that could distract from the priority of containing the YPG and carries the risk of creating a vacuum that might benefit the regime or the Kurds.
The possibility of a war against Hayat Tahrir Al Sham is also reduced because the group is willing to do what it takes to avoid confrontation with Turkey. This was evident in its outreach effort, admitted by one of the group’s top leaders. Despite rumours of an imminent confrontation in October, the group escalated the situation and instead cooperated with Turkish forces inside Idlib. Additionally, the group has evacuated some of its checkpoints in Idlib or is “disappearing”, as one source in the area described it, which indicated the group is not wedded to the control of territory, at least publicly.
Ankara appears to hope that the group will dismantle itself and be incorporated into other formations. Turkey does not seem to be keen to consider the alternative, namely a serious push to weaken the group and replace it with other forces. Such a scenario carries unpredictable and unwanted risks for Turkey. It also does not want to give up a pocket central to its goals of dealing with the Kurdish militia threat in the northwest.
So far, Turkey has been able to maintain the status quo there. But soon it will find itself obliged to make hard choices regarding its approach to the former official branch of Al Qaeda and its long-term interests in northern Syria.
Hassan Hassan is co-author of the New York Times bestseller ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror and a senior fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, Washington DC
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Results
Women finals: 48kg - Urantsetseg Munkhbat (MGL) bt Distria Krasniqi (KOS); 52kg - Odette Guiffrida (ITA) bt Majlinda Kelmendi (KOS); 57kg - Nora Gjakova (KOS) bt Anastasiia Konkina (Rus)
Men’s finals: 60kg - Amiran Papinashvili (GEO) bt Francisco Garrigos (ESP); 66kg - Vazha Margvelashvili (Geo) bt Yerlan Serikzhanov (KAZ)
RESULTS
Lightweight (female)
Sara El Bakkali bt Anisha Kadka
Bantamweight
Mohammed Adil Al Debi bt Moaz Abdelgawad
Welterweight
Amir Boureslan bt Mahmoud Zanouny
Featherweight
Mohammed Al Katheeri bt Abrorbek Madaminbekov
Super featherweight
Ibrahem Bilal bt Emad Arafa
Middleweight
Ahmed Abdolaziz bt Imad Essassi
Bantamweight (female)
Ilham Bourakkadi bt Milena Martinou
Welterweight
Mohamed Mardi bt Noureddine El Agouti
Middleweight
Nabil Ouach bt Ymad Atrous
Welterweight
Nouredine Samir bt Marlon Ribeiro
Super welterweight
Brad Stanton bt Mohamed El Boukhari
%20Ramez%20Gab%20Min%20El%20Akher
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League last-16, second leg:
Real Madrid 1 (Asensio 70'), Ajax 4 (Ziyech 7', Neres 18', Tadic 62', Schone 72')
Ajax win 5-3 on aggregate
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MO
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreators%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Amer%2C%20Ramy%20Youssef%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Amer%2C%20Teresa%20Ruiz%2C%20Omar%20Elba%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
In 2018, the ICRC received 27,756 trace requests in the Middle East alone. The global total was 45,507.
There are 139,018 global trace requests that have not been resolved yet, 55,672 of these are in the Middle East region.
More than 540,000 individuals approached the ICRC in the Middle East asking to be reunited with missing loved ones in 2018.
The total figure for the entire world was 654,000 in 2018.
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
More on Quran memorisation:
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
HOSTS
T20 WORLD CUP
2024: US and West Indies; 2026: India and Sri Lanka; 2028: Australia and New Zealand; 2030: England, Ireland and Scotland
ODI WORLD CUP
2027: South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia; 2031: India and
Bangladesh
CHAMPIONS TROPHY
2025: Pakistan; 2029: India
The biog
Name: Salem Alkarbi
Age: 32
Favourite Al Wasl player: Alexandre Oliveira
First started supporting Al Wasl: 7
Biggest rival: Al Nasr
Company%20profile
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FIGHT%20CARD
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'Moonshot'
Director: Chris Winterbauer
Stars: Lana Condor and Cole Sprouse
Rating: 3/5
LEADERBOARD
%3Cp%3E-19%20T%20Fleetwood%20(Eng)%3B%20-18%20R%20McIlroy%20(NI)%2C%20T%20Lawrence%20(SA)%3B%20-16%20J%20Smith%3B%20-15%20F%20Molinari%20(Ita)%3B%20-14%20Z%20Lombard%20(SA)%2C%20S%20Crocker%20(US)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESelected%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E-11%20A%20Meronk%20(Pol)%3B%20-10%20E%20Ferguson%20(Sco)%3B%20-8%20R%20Fox%20(NZ)%20-7%20L%20Donald%20(Eng)%3B%20-5%20T%20McKibbin%20(NI)%2C%20N%20Hoejgaard%20(Den)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE%20SQUAD
%3Cp%3EMuhammad%20Waseem%20(captain)%2C%20Aayan%20Khan%2C%20Aryan%20Lakra%2C%20Ashwanth%20Valthapa%2C%20Asif%20Khan%2C%20Aryansh%20Sharma%2C%20CP%20Rizwaan%2C%20Hazrat%20Billal%2C%20Junaid%20Siddique%2C%20Karthik%20Meiyappan%2C%20Rohan%20Mustafa%2C%20Vriitya%20Aravind%2C%20Zahoor%20Khan%20and%20Zawar%20Farid.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
UFC%20FIGHT%20NIGHT%3A%20SAUDI%20ARABIA%20RESULTS
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Sukuk explained
Sukuk are Sharia-compliant financial certificates issued by governments, corporates and other entities. While as an asset class they resemble conventional bonds, there are some significant differences. As interest is prohibited under Sharia, sukuk must contain an underlying transaction, for example a leaseback agreement, and the income that is paid to investors is generated by the underlying asset. Investors must also be prepared to share in both the profits and losses of an enterprise. Nevertheless, sukuk are similar to conventional bonds in that they provide regular payments, and are considered less risky than equities. Most investors would not buy sukuk directly due to high minimum subscriptions, but invest via funds.
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
