© Sputnik / Iliya Pitalev
The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and the Russian military group in Syria had carried out a series of air and artillery strikes against militant positions in the northwestern region of Greater Idlib, the Syrian Ministry of Defense announced on August 23.
In a statement, the ministry said that the joint strikes were carried out in response to recent attacks from the region that targeted government-held areas in Aleppo, Hama and Lattakia.
Greater Idlib is ruled by al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and a number of other terrorist groups and Turkish-backed armed factions. The Turkish military maintains a presence in the region to monitor a ceasefire that was brokered three years ago. However, it does nothing to stop militants from launching attacks.
The Syrian and Russian strikes destroyed several headquarters and ammunition depots as well as rocket and drone launchers in Greater Idlib, the Syrian MoD said, adding that “dozens of militants” were also killed or wounded.
In addition, the ministry said that five drones launched by militants were shot down by Syrian air defenses over Aleppo, Hama and Lattakia.
Footage released by the Syrian MoD shows SAA troops targeting frontline posts of HTS with artillery and recoilless rifles, Russian airstrikes against key positions of the terrorist group as well as the wreckage of several downed drones.
In a related development, Rear Admiral Vadim Kulit, the deputy chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria, announced that 25 militants of HTS were killed in one of the recent strikes that targeted Greater Idlib. The strike targeted a command post near the village of Batenta in the northwestern Idlib countryside on August 22.
The recent strikes show that both Syria and Russia are determined to enforce the ceasefire in Greater Idlib. The strikes will likely continue until HTS and its allies cease provocations. In fact, more strikes were reported on August 24.
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