Abu Saleh al-Uzbeki: Terrorist who turned against Tahrir al-Sham

Aya Ezz

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), one of the armed factions operating in northern Syria, released a former leader in its ranks, Siraj al-Din Mukhtarov, nicknamed Abu Saleh al-Uzbeki, who is wanted by Interpol, after spending about nine months in HTS prisons.

In a statement to the Syrian Enab Baladi website, Taqi al-Din Omar, the communication official for HTS, explained that HTS released Uzbeki after serving his prison term.

Who is Uzbeki?

Abu Saleh al-Uzbeki entered Syria in 2015, and at that time he joined HTS and established what is known as the Uzbek battalion operating within the ranks of the terrorist organization.

Uzbeki continued to work with HTS until he split and joined the Ansar al-Din Front, at which time HTS accused him of treason, exposing its secrets, and trying to withdraw fighters from the organization in favor of the new faction.

During the month of June 2020, disputes arose between Uzbeki and HTS leaders, as Uzbeki saw that HTS leader Abu Mohammad al-Julani was controlling the leadership style of his battalion, and he rejected this interference, which made him defect.

Because of the harassment that Uzbeki was subjected to by HTS, a large number of HTS elements defected from the organization, objecting to the method it followed with one of its leaders, considering that what the organization is doing is nothing but an attempt to dominate and control any leader it feels could steal the limelight from Julani in Idlib.

Uzbeki, 30, hails from Kyrgyzstan. He is also being prosecuted by Interpol, accused of committing terrorist crimes and crossing borders illegally.

He is considered the mastermind of the St. Petersburg metro attack in Russia in 2017, which killed 16 people.

It is noteworthy that the Ansar al-Din Front, Ansar al-Islam and the Guardians of Religion organization formed an operations room and “instigated the faithful” in October 2018, in addition to the Ansar al-Tawhid faction, which announced its leave on May 3, 2020.

In June 2020, the three factions announced, along with Jihad Coordination, led by former HTS leader Abu al-Abd Ashidaa, and the Muqatileen al-Ansar Brigade, led by former prominent HTS leader Abu Malik al-Tali, a new formation named Fathbatu.