Ezzat Hawari, a senior commander of Tahrir al-Sham Hayat
© FNAEzzat Hawari, a senior commander of Tahrir al-Sham Hayat (the Levant Liberation Board or the Al-Nusra Front), was gunned down by unknown assailants in the Central part of the militant-held Idlib city, militant-affiliated websites reported on Wednesday
The websites said that Ezzat Hawari nom de guerre Abu Elias, a notorious commander of Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at, was killed in an attack by unknown raiders on the 30th street in Idlib city.

In the meantime, Abu Khadija Libia'ei, another commander of Tahrir al-Sham, was assassinated in an attack in the town of al-Dana in Northern Idlib a couple of days ago, the websites said, adding that Abu Hamzah al-Raqawi, one of his aides was badly injured in the attack.

A report said last month that one of the largest terrorist groups in Idlib defected Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at as widening rifts and tensions among commanders.

Jeish al-Ahrar terrorist group led by Abu Saleh Tahan declared in a statement that it defected Tahrir al-Sham in Idlib.

The statement added that Jeish al-Ahrar decided to leave its bonds with Tahrir al-Sham after audio files leaked in recent days disclosed widening rifts among the commanders of the Al-Nusra Front (Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at or the Levant Liberation Board).

Jeish al-Ahrar, comprising of former Ahrar al-Sham members and commanders, had joined Tahrir al-Sham almost 10 months ago.