File image.
Several militant groups based in the northwestern Syrian region of Greater Idlib launched on November 27 a large-scale offensive against the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in the direction of the western Aleppo countryside.
The offensive, codenamed Operation Deterrence of Aggression, began in the early morning under the command of al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the de-facto ruler of Greater Idlib.
In the first few hours of the offensive, the militants took the SAA by surprise and managed to advance several kilometers, relying mainly on suicide attackers. By the afternoon, the towns of Anjara, Ajil, Sheikh Aqil, Bala, Hairdrakal, Qubtan al-Jabal, Salloum, al-Maari Association, al-Qasimiyah and Hawr had reportedly fallen into the hands of HTS and its allies.
The militants took heavy losses while advancing as a result of SAA artillery strikes as well as airstrikes by both the Russian Aerospace Forces and the Syrian Arab Air Force.
This was the first time Syrian warplanes had bombed targets in Greater Idlib since Russia and Turkey brokered a ceasefire in the region on March 5 of 2020. The HTS-led offensive constitutes the most serious violation of the ceasefire to date.
The SAA also took some losses, with Syrian pro-opposition media reporting the capture of as many as five troops and the destruction of at least one main battle tank.
Over the last few months, several reports talked about a plan by HTS and its allies to launch a large-scale offensive against the SAA in order to take advantage of the distraction caused by the ongoing Israeli war on both the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
In addition, Russian intelligence warned recently that the secret services of the Kiev regime were actively providing support to militants in Greater Idlib.
The SAA took precautions. However, this was not apparently enough. The battle in the western Aleppo countryside will likely go on for weeks, if not months. The militants are currently just ten kilometers away from Aleppo city, thus the SAA and its allies will have to counter-attack.
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