A Russian Su-24 takes off on a combat mission at Hemeimeem airbase, Syria, on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2015. IMAGE: AP PHOTO/VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV
On September 9, footage documenting some of the recent Russian airstrikes on the northwestern Syrian region of Greater Idlib surfaced online.
Two waves of Russian airstrikes hit Greater Idlib on September 8. The airstrikes targeted positions and personnel of al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the de-facto ruler of the region. The targets, which included a large training camp of the terrorist group, were all located in the western Idlib countryside.
The newly-released footage shows a series of airstrikes on a drone unit of HTS. The airstrikes destroyed several dozen makeshift suicide drones and wiped out the militants who attempted to launch them.
According to the Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria, the airstrikes killed more than 120 militants of HTS. One of the slain militants was reportedly former leader of the Katibat al Tawhid wal Jihad, Sirajuddin Mukhtarov.
The Russian airstrikes were a response to recent ceasefire violations by HTS and its allies. Over, the past week, the militants launched several indirect fire attacks from Greater Idlib. Four Syrian soldiers were killed and four others were wounded as a result of these attacks.
The ceasefire in Greater Idlib, which was brokered by Russia and Turkey more than two years ago, is still holding up. However, the situation in the region remains far from being stable. Maintaining pressure on HTS and its allies is critical to prevent a new serious confrontation in the region.
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