Since 2014, large parts of Idlib Governorate, including Idlib City, in Northwest Syria have been largely in the military control of the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front which would later go on to form Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) along with five other groups, who have been at war with other rebel fighters, including the Free Syrian Army, and with the Syrian opposition more generally. HTS does not recognise the authority of the official opposition leadership, the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, or its recognised government, the Syrian Interim Government.