Abu Khalid al-Shami SUV after the strike.
On June 10, RusVesna.SU released footage of the pinpoint strike which eliminated senior commanders of al-Qaeda’s Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in the northwestern Syrian region of Greater Idlib.
The strike claimed the lives of HTS’ military spokesman, Abu Khalid al-Shami, media coordinator, Abu Musab al-Homsi, and Mu’ataz al-Nasir, commander of the group’s internal security forces. Four militants were also killed.
The aerial footage released by RusVesna were taken by a Russian drone which was tracking the three commanders. The commanders were reportedly located with advanced electronic intelligence systems.
The commanders were most likely targeted with a Russian 2K25 Krasnopol laser-guided artillery shell. Their vehicle was apparently painted with laser by the drone.
Russian and Syrian forces fired several Krasnopol shells at militants’ positions in Greater Idlib in the last few days. At least four militants were killed by the weapon in recent strikes.
The targeted assassination of al-Shami and his comrades was a major blow to HTS and its backers, including Turkey. Ankara’s forces and proxies responded with artillery strikes. The situation in Greater Idlib may escalate even further in the upcoming few days.
