Militants of the terrorist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham stand in front of a destroyed house in Atareb, Syria, Sunday, February 12, 2023. (AP)

The Syrian Arab Army ambushed a terrorist cell affiliated with Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham on the axis of Jabal al-Zawiya in southern Idlib, resulting in the killing of all terrorists.

The sources clarified that the cell was attempting to advance towards Syrian Army in the northwest of Kafr Nabl in Jabal al-Zawiya.

Following that, sources added that a terrorist cell from the Turkistan Islamic Party attempted to advance to retrieve the bodies of the killed terrorists. The "rescue" terrorist cell was also ambushed and many were either killed or injured, forcing them to withdraw from the region.

In another context, the leader of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, Abu Muhammad al-Jolani, issued a decision yesterday, Tuesday, to isolate the official responsible for the security apparatus within the organization, Abu Ahmad Hudud, from the leadership of the apparatus, and appoint Abu Abdullah Hurras in his place, marking the first change in the so-called security apparatus.

This comes as protests demanding the overthrow of al-Jolani and the dissolution of his security apparatus within the organization continue.

Protests to overthrow al-Jolani ongoing

Abu Ahmad Hudud is considered responsible for the extensive arrest campaign carried out by al-Jolani last October, in which he accused top organization leaders of "treason and dealing with foreign intelligence" before releasing them from prison following protests against the HTS chief.

He is also a former detainee of the Jaysh al-Islam in Syria's Ghouta district in Damascus' countryside before it was liberated by the Syrian Army from the armed terrorist groups.

On Monday night, in the villages and towns of Jabal al-Zawiya, under the control of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, demonstrations were the most intense. Demonstrators reiterated their demands to overthrow al-Jolani, hold him accountable, dissolve the security apparatus, release detainees from its prisons, and establish a governing council to administer the northwestern region of Syria, putting an end to Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham's monopoly over its administration.

It is important to note that northwestern Syria remains an integral part of the Syrian state which does not recognize al-Jolani as the leader in Idlib.

Monday witnessed the largest such demonstrations so far, which took place in villages and towns of the Syrian Jabal al-Zawiya region.

In addition to calling for the overthrowing of al-Jolani, protesters are also demanding the release of detainees held in its prisons and the establishment of an alternative governing council to manage the northwest region of Syria currently occupied by the terrorist group.

The center of the city of Idlib also saw popular gatherings, where participating religious figures emphasized the necessity of the people joining the demonstrations until al-Jolani was unseated.