The Ahrar al Sham said that Hashem al-Sheikh a.k.a. Abu Jaber will take over as leader, and Abu Saleh Tahan will become the group’s military commander following the killing of 47 commanders in an explosion in Idlib. A number of the commanders were said to have died of asphyxiation while trapped in an underground bunker following the blast. The Al Nusrah Front released a eulogy for the slain Ahrar al Sham leaders. The Fijian military backtracked from its earlier assurance that Al Nusrah would soon release the 45 kidnapped Fijian peacekeepers; Al Nusrah released a video of the captives. The Kurdish YPG formed a coalition with seven other groups to fight the Islamic State in Syria. The OPCW confirmed the use of chlorine in eight attacks on three villages in northern Syria in April. A reconnaissance aircraft was spotted over Raqqah city.
