Al-Qaeda-linked forces have now embarked on a campaign to destroy the a proposed alternative government of the Syrian Opposition, known as the Syrian Interim Government, Al-Masdar News reports.

Beginning on late Tuesday, December 19, the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Ha’yat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly called Jabhat al-Nusra) militant group mobilized forces throughout Idlib as part of an operation to dismantle all elements of the Syrian opposition government that are present in the region.

According to local sources, Ha’yat Tahrir al-Sham fighters stormed various offices belonging to the opposition government, arresting key cabinet figures such as health minister Mohamad Firas al-Jundi and shutting down departments like the education ministry.

At the present time, no official explanation for Ha’yat Tahrir al-Sham’s latest course of action has yet been provided either by opposition sources or the group itself.

The move by Ha’yat Tahrir al-Sham comes amid a series of big defeats at the hands of Syrian army-led forces in southeast Idlib, south Aleppo and northeast Hama.