Russian warplanes target NW Syria, cause casualties
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – Russian warplanes continued on Wednesday airstrikes on areas controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS – formerly al-Nusra Front) in the countryside of Idlib Governorate, northwest Syria, resulting in casualties.
Opposition military sources informed North Press that “Russian warplanes continued airstrikes, using explosive missiles, targeting locations in the vicinity of the towns of al-Fatira, Safouhan, and the outskirts of Kafr Awid in Zawiya Mountain, south of Idlib, for the fourth consecutive day.”
The sources added that the Russian airstrikes led to “the killing of five militants and the injury of three others of al-Fateh al-Mubin Operations Room, a group of extremist factions, in the al-Fatira.”
It was mentioned that the Russian airstrikes coincided with artillery and missile shelling by the Syrian government forces on sites in the vicinity of villages and towns such as al-Fatira, Kafr Awid, Sfuhan, Kafr Nabl, Maarat Horma, Maarat al-Sin, and Hazarin, south of Idlib. The mentioned areas were targeted by more than 400 artillery and missile shells.
Meanwhile, the sources indicated that the HTS responded to the escalation by targeting the government forces’ positions in Kafr Nabl, Maarat Horma, Maarat al-Sin, and Hazarin, south of Idlib. These retaliatory strikes resulted in the destruction of a tank, and there are reports of casualties among the government forces.
Although the de-escalation zone in northwest Syria is subject to a Russian-Turkish ceasefire agreement signed in March 2020, the area witnesses frequent mutual bombardment despite the entry of the ceasefire into force.
In March 2020, Russia and Turkey reached an agreement in Moscow that stipulated a ceasefire, the establishment of a safe corridor, and the conduct of joint patrols on the M4/Aleppo-Latakia Highway.