Clashes Approach Syria’s Aleppo City As Rebels Make More Gains (Videos)

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Militants led by al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) advanced closer to the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on November 28 as a part of their large-scale offensive against the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), codenamed Operation Deterrence of Aggression.

Following heavy clashes with the SAA in the western Aleppo countryside, the militants managed to capture the towns of Khan al-Assal, Kafrnaha, Yaqed Al-Adas, and the 1st Engineers’ Village. Khan al-Assal is located around six kilometers away from the western entrance of Aleppo city.

The militants also advanced to the southwest of the city, capturing the town of al-Zarba which is located on the strategic M5 highway, the main route to Aleppo. The Sham FM pro-government radio station reported that the highway was closed by the SAA.

In the morning, HTS and its allies, including the Turkistan Islamic Party, Jama’at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad and cluster of Turkey-backed armed factions, launched a separate assault in southern Idlib countryside and reportedly managed to capture the towns of Dadikh, Kafr Batikh, and Sheikh Ali, which are located along the M5.

Heavy clashes were also reported in the nearby town of Saraqib. However, the key town remains in the hands of the SAA and other pro-government factions.

Warplanes of the Russian Aerospace Forces and the Syrian Arab Air Force continued to target militants between the western Aleppo countryside and the southern Ilib countryside.

Meanwhile, reinforcements from the 25th Special Mission Forces Division, 4th Armored Division, the Republican Guards, the Special Mission Forces and other formations of the SAA have reportedly begun to arrive to the fronts in both Aleppo and Idlib.

At least 80 militants of HTS, 19 others from Turkey-backed factions and some 54 Syrian troops have been killed since the start of the offensive, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. It is important to note that the London-based pro-opposition monitoring group was accused in the past of inflating SAA losses.

In addition, unverified reports said that a senior commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps was killed by the militants while fighting alongside the SAA in he western Aleppo countryside.

The offensive was launched early on November 27 from the so-called Greater Idlib region, which includes Idlib city and parts of the governorates countryside as well as several towns in the northern Lattakia countryside, the northwestern Hamas countryside and the western countryside of Aleppo.

The Turkish military maintains a large presence in the region. However, HTS is the de-facto ruler. The terrorist group’s offensive put an end to a ceasefire agreement that was brokered by both Russia and Turkey on March 5 of 2020.

In the month leading to the offensive several reports talked about a plan by HTS and its allies to attack Aleppo city in order to take advantage of the distraction caused by the ongoing Israeli war on both the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. Moreover, Russian intelligence warned that the secret services of the Kiev regime were actively providing support to militants in Greater Idlib.

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