South Front
A Russian Su-24 takes off on a combat mission at Hemeimeem airbase, Syria, on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2015. IMAGE: AP PHOTO/VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV
On May 27, video footage surfaced on Twitter documenting recent Russian airstrikes on the northwestern Syrian region of Greater Idlib, which is controlled by al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and other terrorist groups.
The airstrikes hit targets in the outskirts of the towns of Fleifel and Sufuhon in Zawiya Mountain in the southern Idlib countryside on May 26. The footage, which was taken by a reconnaissance drone, suggests that precision-guided bombs were used to carry out the airstrikes.
The targets reportedly included command and control positions, ammunition depots and barracks that belong to HTS and its allies.
The airstrikes were reportedly a response to an attack with a suicide drone that targeted on May 25 the government-held town of Khan Shikhun in the southern Idlib countryside, where Russian forces are known to be deployed. The drone was shot down by Syrian air defenses over the outskirts of the town before it could reach its designated target. No material losses or casualties were reported.
The drone attack was a blatant violation of the ceasefire in Greater Idlib, which was brokered by Russia and Turkey more than three years ago. It was likely launched by HTS or one of its allies, who have been launching attacks with suicide drones for more than five years.
The airstrikes on Fleifel and Sufuhon were the first Russian attack to target Greater Idlib since December, when the Turkish-Syrian normalization process began to pick up momentum.
HTS and its allies launched dozens of attacks in the last five months in what appears to be an attempt to sabotage the normalization process, which is backed by both Russia and Iran. The terrorist groups fear that the success of the process will lead to a Turkish military withdrawal from Greater Idlib, which would leave the door open for the Syrian military and its allies to resume ground operations.
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