Syrian forces in shoot-out at French terrorist’s stronghold

 Syrian government forces launched a raid on Wednesday on a French-led jihadist battalion’s camp near the Turkish border.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said troops were targeting an al-Ghurabaa stronghold known as the French Camp in the city of Harem in western Idlib, north-west Syria.

The jihadist group, whose name means “the Strangers”, is led by Omar Omsen (also known as Oumar Diaby), a French national of Senegalese descent.

Omsen is nicknamed the Super Jihadist in French media, and is a high-priority target for France and Syria. He was designated a global terrorist by the US in 2016, and has been accused of recruiting and funnelling French-speaking militants to Syria.

Syrian officials said the operation was to arrest Omsen, dismantle his terror network, and secure the safety of women and children in the area. A girl was recently reported kidnapped in the area.

General Ghassan Bakir, a senior commander in Idlib province, confirmed that government forces had surrounded the camp. The son of a prominent French jihadist in the camp, who is known as Jibril al-Mouhajir, told AFP that “clashes erupted after midnight and are ongoing”.

Residents in the area told AFP they heard explosions and gunfire from the direction of the camp early Wednesday, and had seen government reinforcements arrive late Tuesday night.

French security services estimate around 50 fighters are part of the group, which has long operated in Syria’s conflict zones. It was unclear whether any fighters have been killed or captured in the assault.

Syria’s transitional president Ahmed al-Sharaa recently pledged to officials from France that he would work to have French jihadists in Syria sent to Paris, according to SOHR sources.

He reportedly made similar commitments to Vladimir Putin during a visit to Moscow, promising to hand over Russian and Chechen jihadists in stages to avoid unrest among migrant fighters.

Omsen, a former petty criminal from Nice, rose to prominence by producing slick propaganda videos aimed at radicalising young French Muslims, before joining Syria’s jihadist ranks in 2013. He has since emerged as one of the most prominent French jihadist figures in the country.

Though once aligned with other Islamist factions, his group, al-Ghurabaa, has become increasingly isolated amid shifting power dynamics in the rebel-held north west after the fall of the Assad regime.

France has not publicly commented on the ongoing operation, but its quiet co-ordination with Syrian authorities highlights Paris’s continued efforts to pursue nationals involved in overseas terrorism.

The situation on the ground remains fluid, with clashes and arrests expected in the coming days.