Syrian and Russian fighter jets carried out several air raids on 16 October, targeting positions belonging to the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) extremist group, formerly Al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front.
The strikes hit HTS positions in the countryside of the northern Idlib governorate, as well as in the countryside of the northwestern city of Latakia, for the second day in a row, according to Al Mayadeen’s correspondent.
“The raids targeted military training sites and warehouses, in addition to an underground tunnel in the vicinity of the town of Benin in Jabal al-Zawiya,” Al Mayadeen reported.
Russian and Syrian jets have stepped up their bombardment of HTS positions in the Idlib and Latakia countryside over the past few days.
Syrian-Russian airstrikes targeted the extremist group’s encampments in the Al-Basel Forest west of Idlib city on 14 October, as well as the hills surrounding the towns of Sheikh Bahr and Kafr Jales.
Sources told Al Mayadeen that the strikes two days ago hit an underground machinery warehouse in Idlib city.
According to the opposition-linked war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), Syrian army forces brought in additional military reinforcements to Idlib from the suburbs of Aleppo and its western countryside.
Syria intensified its bombing campaign against Idlib in October last year, following a drone attack carried out by extremists under HTS command, which targeted a Syrian military college, killing dozens. According to several reports, anti-government extremist militants in northern Syria have expanded their drone arsenal and expertise in drone warfare through recent cooperation with Ukraine.
https://thecradle.co/articles/syrian-russian-warplanes-pummel-extremist-groups-in-syrias-northwest