A suspected US-led coalition strike on a site used by Uyghur militants in Syria’s Idlib province on June 21 has renewed debate over the future of foreign fighters under the country’s post-Assad government. Sources told The New Arab on that an aircraft targeted a compound used by a faction formerly known as the Turkistan Islamic Party, in al-Zainiya area near Jisr al-Shughour in western Idlib. While no confirmed information has emerged regarding casualties from the strike, Syria TV reported that the site was largely empty. Preliminary reports suggested that a leader of Hurras al-Din, a former al-Qaeda affiliate which formally dissolved in January, may have been killed.
The presence of Uyghur fighters in Syria has been a presistent concern for China, helping to prompt Beijing military support for the Bashar Assad regime before it was overthrown in late 2024.
Map: PCL
