The al-Fateh al-Mubeen Operations Room claimed on August 16 that its militants had shot down two Russian armed drones in the northwestern Syrian region of Greater Idlib.
The operations room is led by al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham. Turkish-backed factions and a number of al-Qaeda groups are members of the room.
According to al-Fateh al-Mubeen’s claims, the Russian drones were downed in the vicinity of the town of Benin in the southern countryside of Idlib and over the al-Raqim hill in the northern Lattakia countryside.
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The operations room didn’t release any photos of the downed Russian drones, which rises serious questions about the accuracy of its claims.
In the past, al-Fateh al-Mubeen and its factions claimed to have shot down armed drones in Greater Idlib. However, they were commercially bought drones, like the DJI Phantom. Such drones are usually used by Syrian pro-government forces.
Apparently, Greater Idlib militants spread such news for the purpose of gaining more public support. They are also trying to promote themselves as an organized, unified force capable of defending the region.
Fake News. Russian doesn’t have any operational armed drone. Ironically they were pioneers in UAV technology.