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Al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and other terrorist groups controlling the northwestern Syrian region of Greater Idlib have escalated their attacks, triggering a fierce response from the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies.
The escalation began on June 22, when an armed drone launched from Greater Idlib targeted the government-held town of Salhab in the western Hama countryside. The attack claimed the lives of three civilians, a woman and two children, and wounded two others.
The next day, June 23, a similar drone attack targeted the town of al-Qardahah in the southeastern Lattakia countryside, killing a civilian engineer and wounding a woman. Later on the same day, a second attack targeted the town of Deir Shamil in the western Hama countryside. The attack claimed the life of an elderly woman.
In response to the attacks, between June 23 and 25, the Russian Aerospace Forces launched a series of airstrikes on Greater Idlib.
The airstrikes hit: the towns of Sharorah and Kabani as well as al-Khudor hill in the northern Lattakia countryside; The town of Gassaniah and Jisr al-Shughur city in the western Idlib countryside; Al-Arbaeen Mount and the village of Beinin in the southern Idlib countryside; The western outskirts of Idlib city.
The targets were reportedly headquarters, workshops and ammunition depots of HTS and two of its allies, the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) and the 1st Coastal Division, which were used to store and launch the deadly drone attacks.
During the same period, the SAA launched a series of strikes with artillery and rockets against positions of the groups in different directions in the northern Lattakia countryside, northwestern Hama countryside and the southern countryside of Idlib.
The Syrian and Russian strikes didn’t deter HTS and its allies, who were blamed for two new drone attacks that targeted Salhab and the town of Jurin in the northwestern Hama countryside on June 26. In Salhab, an elderly man was wounded.
The SAA and the Russian military responded on June 27 by targeting a large underground base of HTS near the town of Sarjah in the southern Idlib countryside. The base was targeted by Syrian artillery and Russian warplanes.
During the strikes, HTS and its allies launched a salvo of rockets at Jurin. The rocket attack wounded at least two civilians.
The Syrian and Russian strikes killed or wounded dozens of militants. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based pro-opposition monitor, HTS and the TIP lost at least 13 of their militants.
Despite receiving a large blow, HTS and its allies will likely continue to violate the ceasefire in Greater Idlib. This escalation appears to be an attempt to sabotage the Turkish-Syrian normalization talks, which are sponsored by Russia and Iran. Eventually, a confrontation could break out in the region, where Turkish forces are still deployed.
