A Russian Su-24 strike aircraft in the sky over the Khmeimim airbase in Syria. Photo: Dmitriy Vinogradov / RIA Novosti
On June 28, the Syrian Ministry of Defense released footage of recent strikes that targeted a stronghold of al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in the northwestern region of Greater Idlib.
Syrian artillery and Russian warplanes attacked the stronghold, which is located near the town of Sharjah in the southern Idlib countryside, on June 27.
In a statement, the ministry said that the joint strikes were carried out in response to recent attacks on residential areas in Hama.
Armed drones, which were reportedly launched by HTS from Greater Idlib, bombarded the town of Salhab in the western Hama countryside and Jurin in the northwestern countryside of the governorate on June 26. In Salhab, an elderly man was wounded.
The Syrian MoD said that the retaliation strikes destroyed headquarters and depots within the stronghold, where the terrorist group was storing weapons, ammunition, intelligence gathering equipment, electronic warfare means as well as reconnaissance and armed drones.
The ministry listed the names of 11 militants who were killed in the joint Syrian-Russian strikes, including a field commander of HTS’s Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib Brigade. Meanwhile, Syrian media reports said that more than 50 militants were killed or wounded as a result of the strikes.
Last week, five civilians in government-held areas in Hama and Latakia were killed in drone attacks which were launched by HTS and its allies from Greater Idlib. The Syrian and Russian militaries responded with a series of airstrikes that targeted positions linked to the terrorist group’s drone program.
The last drone attacks were a blatant violation of the ceasefire in Greater Idlib, which was brokered by Russia and Turkey more than three years ago. Under the pretext of monitoring the ceasefire, the Turkish military maintains a large force in the region. However, it does not intervene with the operations of HTS and other terrorist groups there.
A complete Turkish withdrawal from Greater Idlib as well as from Syria’s northern and eastern regions is the main demand of Damascus, which is currently engaged in normalization talks with Ankara.
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