Click to see full-size image. Source: sdf-press.com
A large force of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) reached on November 30 the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, joining the remaining forces of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) as militants led by al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
The militants stormed the western parts of the city and managed to reach its center late on November 29, just two days after launching a large-scale offensive against the SAA.
The SDF, which is backed by the United States, rushed thousands of heavily armed fighters from its areas of control in the eastern Aleppo governorate, through the government-held towns of Deir Haif, to Aleppo International Airport then to the Kurdish-held district of Sheikh Maqsoud in the city and to the town of Tel Rifaat in the northern countryside of the governorate.
It is unclear yet if the force arrived to help the SAA launch a counter-attack, or just to evacuate remaining Kurdish fighters from the city and its northern countryside.
The bold move was clearly coordinated with the Syrian government. It remains unclear if the U.S.-led coalition played any role in the agreement.
While HTS and its allies have not advanced much inside Aleppo since last night, the militants and others from the Syrian National Army made several gains in the northern Aleppo countryside in the morning, capturing the towns of Tadef, Toman, Abu Taltal, al-Shumawiya, Anadan, Hareitan, Kafr Hamra, and Hayyan.
The assault in the northern Aleppo countryside was launched from the direction of the Greater Idlib region, as well as from Turkish-occupied areas in northern Aleppo.
At least 155 militants of HTS, 28 others from Turkey-backed factions and some 79 Syrian troops have been killed since the start of the offensive in Aleppo and neighboring Idlib on November 27, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based pro-opposition monitoring group.
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