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Idlib, in the northwestern part of the country, is home to an evolving group of active jihadist groups, including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Hurras al-Deen and Turkistan Islamic Party.
HTS is the strongest jihadist group in the province. Hurras al-Deen is an offshoot branch of HTS with links to al-Qaida and the Turkistan Islamic Party, which is made up mostly of Chinese Uighur militants.
HTS was formerly known as al-Nusra Front and was an affiliate of al-Qaida in Syria. In 2016, the group said it cut ties with al-Qaida and named itself as the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham. In 2017, the group organized an alliance with several other smaller militant groups and renamed itself HTS~VOA
