Nour el-Din el-Zinki is part of a 15-member coalition known as the National Liberation Front that has clashed with extremists in the past. According to activist collectives in northern Syria, both groups used heavy weapons, including tanks, in the fighting. Idlib has been plagued by assassinations over the past months that left scores of people dead including al-Qaida-linked fighters. The government-controlled Syrian Central Military Media said the al-Qaida-linked fighters captured the villages of Taqad, Saadiyah and Habata. It added that a local court released an official with the Nour el-Din el-Zinki after questioning him leading to tensions in the area.

Source: Washington Post January 01, 2019 14:23 UTC