File image.
On October 5, a drone crashed near the town Binnish in the eastern part of the Syrian region of Greater Idlib, where the Turkish military maintains a large presence.
Syrian opposition activists in Greater Idlib claimed that the drone was Iranian. However, footage of the wreckage showed a primitive drone similar to the types manufactured and operated by al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the de-facto ruler of the region.
The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said that the drone was brought down by a Turkish electronic warfare system deployed in a post near Binnish.
The Turkish military didn’t intervene in HTS’s drone operations within Greater Idlib in the past. However, it may have brought down the drone after failing to identify it, or because it flew too close to its post near Binnish.
Over the last few months, Russian airstrikes hit several drone bases of HTS. Dozens of the terrorist group’s drones were wiped out along with their command centers and operators. In at least one case, unofficial Russian sources credited the Turkish military with providing information on the terrorist group’s drone program.
HTS launched several drone attacks from Greater Idlib on civilians and military targets this year. However, they failed to inflict any real damage.
While it’s still unclear if Turkey is cooperating with Russia to weaken HTS offensive capabilities, there is no doubt that the terrorist group’s drone program is failing.
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