A Russian Su-24 strike aircraft in the sky over the Khmeimim airbase in Syria. Photo: Dmitriy Vinogradov / RIA Novosti
Some 400 militants were reportedly killed by Syrian and Russian strikes in the Syrian governorates of Idlib, Aleppo and Hama as a large-scale offensive launched by al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its allies in the north of the country appears to be nearing a complete halt.
Speaking to the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency on December 2, a Syrian military official said: “during the past 24 hours, the strikes carried out by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in cooperation with friendly Russian forces operating in Syria continued through concentrated air, missile and artillery strikes on the terrorists’ sites, warehouses, supply lines and movement axes in the countryside of Aleppo and Idlib.”
Five command headquarters, seven ammunition depots, some of which contained drones, were destroyed according to the unnamed official.
“The precise strikes launched by our armed forces in cooperation with friendly Russian forces led to the elimination of more than 400 terrorists, including foreign nationalities, during the past hours,” the official said.
“Our armed forces began moving on several axes in the countryside of Aleppo, Hama and Idlib to encircle the terrorists and expel them from the areas they entered and secure them completely, and to establish new concentration points to prepare for the next attack… with the continued arrival of more military reinforcements to the engagement axes,” he added.
The main front is now the northern Hamas countryside, where the SAA continues to solidify its defenses. HTS and its allies reported some advance, towards the town of Qasr Abu Samra. However, they are taking heavy losses and their advance appears to be nearing a complete halt.
Meanwhile in Aleppo, the militants have not made any new gains in the last 24 hours. However, they are working to clear the city and vast parts of the eastern and southern countryside where SAA troops are no longer present. HTS also brokered a deal with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) under which all Kurdish forces withdrew from the Sheikh Maqsoud district in the city and nearby areas.
The offensive in northern Syria, codenamed Operation Deterrence of Aggression, was launched early on November 27 from what was known as Greater Idlib, a region which included Idlib city and parts of the governorates countryside as well as several towns in the northern Lattakia countryside, the northwestern Hamas countryside and the western countryside of Aleppo.
Turkey, who maintains a large force in the militant-held areas in northern Syria, says that it didn’t approve the offensive. However, this is hard to believe considering its strong influence over HTS and its allies.
Meanwhile, an informed Syrian official told Russia’s RIA Novosti on December 2 that both the United States and Ukraine helped HTS prepare for the offensive, mainly by providing drones and providing technical support. The unnamed official also revealed that the SAA communications were jammed early on in the offensive, noting that such capability is not available for the militants.
While the offensive shocked the SAA in its first days, the situation appears to be stabilizing. Several countries, including Russia, Iran, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, have already voiced their support of the Syrian government. Iranian-backed forces also reported to be arriving via Iraq.
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uncle sam aiding hts terrorists. not surprised at all.
i love seeing the lackeys for israel getting wiped out. keep up the good work assad.
how curious, united states of america the one that suffered the biggest blow in its country the most infamous day in history, the famous september 11, which was planned by terrorists is now being helped by none other than the americans themselves. wow i am astonished by the relatives of the victims they were betrayed
pls dont be a clown, calling the deep state inside job 9-11 a extern terrorist attack, while the usa deep state is the biggest worlds terrorist.
the allies are carving syria like a turkey…heheheh
4000 not 400 sf .comon now.. propaganda nothing more everyone
i told you yesterday that rebels has a deal with sdf.
rebels advance has not halted. they took over dozens of villages today. rebels took today more territory, than russia in three months. you call that halt in advance?
assad hit two hospitals with air strikes today in idlib. we should call him ass-ad-yahu.
kinda of like what we heard before kursk was invaded, ransacked and de-occupied of more than 200,000 resident(s), and that the war in the eastern donbas was all but finished!… will believe it when we “officially” stop getting a steady stream of more “say it ain’t so”!…