A previously unknown militant group calling itself Kata'ib Khattab al-Shishani (Khattab al-Shishani Brigades) has claimed responsibility for the attack today on a joint Russian-Turkish patrol in Idlib https://monitoring.bbc.co.uk/product/c201w85z

The group is apparently named after the leader of the Arab mujahidin in Chechnya, known as Khattab, who was killed in 2002. Its name suggests it might be comprised of militants from the Caucasus

Al-Qaeda supporters have widely cheered the attack, but so far haven't acknowledged or praised the group itself. Some claimed the attack will "embarrass" HTS whom they accuse of being secretly aligned with Turkey

Also, some online jihadists have warned against a fake statement attributed to the al-Qaeda-linked operations room Stand Firm claiming responsibility for the attack.

It remains to be seen who's behind this new group. Is it a front for others?

Many thanks to @einfal for flagging up!

The “Khattab al-Shishani Brigades”, whoever might be behind it, has finally put out the video it had promised about the 14 Jul attack on a joint Turkish-Russian patrol in Idlib, which the group had claimed.

The video, which has strong anti-Turkey and anti-Erdogan rhetoric, appears to show original footage of the attack, or at least angles I hadn’t seen before, including filming of the car-bomb driving to its target and aerial footage, all branded with the group’s logo.

It also features the will of the suicide bomber, identified as Abu Obaida al-Ansari (nom de guerre suggests he was a local), whose face is blurred out.

I thought the most interesting bit was that the video took a swipe at al-Qaeda-aligned groups in Syria for condemning Turkey’s patrols in Idlib but not doing anything about them. It unsurprisingly condemned HTS for allegedly selling out.

One prominent al-Qaeda supporter praised the group for the attack but took issue with the jab at al-Qaeda.

The video also favourably features the late al-Qaeda leader UBL and late al-Qaeda figure Abu Yahya al-Libi.

It shows extensive and graphic footage of civilian casualties, esp children, whom it says died as a result of Turkish bombardment, esp in al-Bab, a town in Aleppo that was held by ISIS until Turkey & affiliated local rebels pushed them out in Feb 2017.