HTS militants in Idlib

Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), formerly known as Jabhat Al-Nusra (the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda), and the West-supported "White Helmets" are preparing a provocation and making staged videos in Idlib to accuse Syria and Russia of launching missile strikes on civilians, Maj. Gen. Oleg Yegorov, the deputy head of the Russian Defense Ministry's Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in Syria, said on Sunday.

"According to information received by the Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides, militants of the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group together with the White Helmets pseudo-humanitarian organization are making staged videos to accuse the Russian Air Force and Syrian government forces of attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in the Kitian settlement in Idlib Province," Yegorov told a briefing.

Read: Russian Center for Reconciliation: 8 Al-Nusra bombings in Idlib

In mid-July, the 'Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham', 'Ansar al-Tawhid', and the 'National Army' factions announced they targetted Syrian army positions in the Al-Ghab Plain, northwest of Hama, south of Idlib, and north of Latakia, in response to what they described as the Russian bombing of the western countryside of Idlib, which led to a number of civilian deaths and injuries.

It is noteworthy that in May, the Russian Federal Security Service reported that 10 individuals were arrested in nine Russian districts for conspiring with members of the "Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham" to set up a vast network to collect funds for militants in Idlib.