Hawzah News Agency (Damascus, Syria) - Front-line leader Abu Ahmad al-Janoubi of the Al-Qaeda affiliate group Ha’yat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra) has been killed along with five other takfiris recently in ongoing battles throughout eastern Idlib province.

Abu Ahmad al-Janoubi was leading a counter-attack to retake a key hill, Tal Izzo, west of the city of Abu Duhur.

At first the Islamist assault seemed promising since it was backed by artillery shelling of Syrian Army positions atop Tal Izzo, however upon approaching the summit Abu Ahmad al-Janoubi and his unit were snagged in a trap that had been set up by troops of the elite Tiger Forces Division.

Within a matter of minutes, the takfiri commander and five other men from his assault party were gunned down ultimately forcing Islamist fighters to abandon their attack.