© Sputnik / Iliya Pitalev
On August 31, the Syrian Ministry of Defense released footage of strikes that targeted the northwestern Syrian region of Greater Idlib in recent days.
In a statement, the ministry said that the strikes were carried out by the Syrian Arab Army and the Russian Aerospace Forces in response to recent attacks that targeted government-held areas in the southern Idlib countryside and the northwestern countryside of Hama.
The air and artillery strikes hit positions and equipment, including a multiple rocket launcher, of al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its allies.
“Dozens of militants” were killed in the strikes, according to the ministry, who identified five of the casualties in its statement.
This was the third wave of Syrian and Russian strikes to hit HTS and its allies this month. Dozens of militants were killed or wounded in the two first waves. However, the terrorist group continues to challenge the ceasefire in Greater Idlib, which was brokered by Russia and Turkey more than three years ago.
Early on September 1, militants from HTS raided a position of the SAA near the town of al-Sarraf in the northern Lattakia countryside.
The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that five soldiers lost their lives in the attack. Meanwhile, other pro-opposition news sources said that two of the attackers were killed. An activist who works as a propagandist for HTS was also wounded while covering the attack.
The attack on al-Sarraf position will not likely go without a response. A new wave of Syria and Russian strikes could hit Greater Idlib in the upcoming few days.
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