A Russian Su-24 strike aircraft in the sky over the Khmeimim airbase in Syria. Photo: Dmitriy Vinogradov / RIA Novosti
On October 7, warplanes of the Russian Aerospace Forces carried out a series of airstrikes on the northwestern Syrian region of Greater Idlib.
The airstrikes targeted an area between the towns of Sheikh Bahar and Armanaz in the northern countryside of Idlib. This area hosts several training camps of al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the de-facto ruler of Greater Idlib. The exact results of the airstrikes are yet to be revealed.
At around the same time, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) carried out artillery strikes on positions of HTS and its allies in the towns of Sirmaniyah and al-Enkawi in the northwestern Hama countryside as well as in the towns of al-Fatterah and Sufuhon in the southern countryside of Idlib.
The Russian and Syrian strikes were likely a response to a recent attack that targeted SAA troops in the western countryside of Aleppo.
The attack, which took place on October 5, targeted a military position near the 46th Regiment Base. It was carried out by the Inghamiseen Division of HTS’s Umar ibn al-Khattab Brigade. The terrorist group claimed that five soldiers were killed or wounded as a result of the attack, which was a blatant violation of the ceasefire in Greater Idlib.
The ceasefire was brokered by Russia and Turkey more than two years ago. However, the situation in Greater Idlib remains unstable.
In the last few months, the SAA and its allies began to respond any violation by HTS with brute force in an attempt to enforce the ceasefire agreement. This led to a sharp decrease in ceasefire violations. Still, more needs to be done to secure Greater Idlib.
