2712070 10/04/2015 Russian servicemen attach a Kh-25 high-precision missile to a Su-24 aircraft at the Khmeimim airbase in Syria. Dmitriy Vinogradov/RIA Novosti
On September 27, a new wave of Russian airstrikes hit the northwestern Syria region of Greater Idlib, where several terrorist groups are present and active.
The airstrikes targeted a large training camp of the Izza Army near the village of Kalbait that is located in the northern Idlib countryside, just a few kilometers away from the border with Turkey. The Izza Army is a close ally of al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the de-facto ruler of Greater Idlib.
Some 200 militants of the Izza Army were reportedly gathered at the camp for a training course when it was targeted. The results of the airstrikes are yet to be revealed.
Several hours after the airstrikes, explosions were reported over the town of al-Atarib in the western Aleppo countryside. The explosions were reportedly caused by flash bombs dropped by Russian warplanes.
The Russian airstrikes were likely a response to recent ceasefire violations by HTS and its allies. The most serious violation was on September 23. HTS terrorists raided two Syrian military positions near the village of Khirbat Jidraia in the western countryside of Aleppo. The terrorist group claimed that six soldiers were killed during the raid.
Despite of repeated violations by HTS and its allies, the ceasefire in Greater Idlib, which was brokered by Russia and Turkey more than two years ago, is still holding up.
The Syrian military and its allies stepped up their attacks on militants in Greater Idlib in the last few weeks in an attempt to enforce the ceasefire and prevent the situation in the region from spinning out of control. Meanwhile, Turkey, who keeps a large force in the region, is yet to take any action to help enforce the ceasefire.
