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 May 27, video footage surfaced on Twitter documenting recent Russian airstrikes on the northwestern Syrian region of Greater Idlib, which is controlled by al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and other terrorist groups.
The airstrikes hit targets in the outskirts of the towns of Fleifel and Sufuhon in Zawiya Mountain in the southern Idlib countryside on May 26. The footage, which was taken by a reconnaissance drone, suggests that precision-guided bombs were used to carry out the airstrikes.
The targets reportedly included command and control positions, ammunition depots and barracks that belong to HTS and its allies.
The airstrikes were reportedly a response to an attack with a suicide drone that targeted on May 25 the government-held town of Khan Shikhun in the southern Idlib countryside, where Russian forces are known to be deployed. The drone was shot down by Syrian air defenses over the outskirts of the town before it could reach its designated target. No material losses or casualties were reported.
The drone attack was a blatant violation of the ceasefire in Greater Idlib, which was brokered by Russia and Turkey more than three years ago. It was likely launched by HTS or one of its allies, who have been launching attacks with suicide drones for more than five years.
The airstrikes on Fleifel and Sufuhon were the first Russian attack to target Greater Idlib since December, when the Turkish-Syrian normalization process began to pick up momentum.
HTS and its allies launched dozens of attacks in the last five months in what appears to be an attempt to sabotage the normalization process, which is backed by both Russia and Iran. The terrorist groups fear that the success of the process will lead to a Turkish military withdrawal from Greater Idlib, which would leave the door open for the Syrian military and its allies to resume ground operations.
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no amount of ceasefires will satisfy the us/nato terrorists. it just gives them chance to resupply. it’s time idlib was liberated.
qatari backed terrorists you mean.
ultimately 99% of terrorism emanates from the us.
not uk? not soviet union? not china? not saudi arabia? not turkey? not iran? not pakistan?
that’s funny. all those countries you have mentioned apart from blighty are forming more links of friendship and cooperation. the saudi arabian admin has realised the error of it’s ways. it’s no longer walking in us footprints. as far as the saudi’s are concerned, the business was good but now it’s time for a change.
us now supports terrorist groups once supported by nazis (uck, azov) and commies (pkk, mek)
their bottomless money pit
yeah, those qatari backed terrorists are just desperate for the dollar. qatar were providing sundry supplies but not the actual terrorists. they were supplied by langley and nato.
when the saudi blockade existed on qatar, which country supported qatar besides turkey? and which two organizations also supported qatar with their name starting from h?
muslim terrorists multiply faster than they can be eradicated.
turkey has abandoned hts, iran has abandoned the taliban, good news actually. boko haram and al shabaab are getting obliterated also. jhk will cry a lot and will have massive temper tantrums.
yeah baby is a good thing for humanity when zionist enslaved sunni-whhabi terrorists get blown to bits. now that erdougan has won turkey’s election it would be nice to see him slaughter and ethnically cleanse the zionist enslaved pkk-ypg-sdf secessionist kurdish terrorists who are illegally occupying eastern syria.
assad and russia want sdf but iran doesn’t.
nusra-front does not like glide bombs.
toto by mali ruské vojská urobiť na základne teroristov z usa!!! sýrii by mali poskytnúť aspoň zbrane a zbraňové systémy + muníciu. treba už konečne vyhnať okupantov z usa zo sýrie.
krasnopol rounds were used