Syrian troops engaged in fierce battles with the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) extremist group on 27 November and heavily bombarded its positions after militants launched what has been described as the largest anti-government attack since 2020.
“Since the early morning hours, fierce battles have been taking place between the Syrian Arab Army and terrorist organizations that have launched the largest attack since 2020,” the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Very violent clashes are now taking place along the western Aleppo countryside axis, and continuous raids by Syrian–Russian warplanes are targeting terrorist gatherings and their supply lines,” it added.
The HTS attack was launched against SAA positions in the countryside of Aleppo, Hama, and Idlib. It started with every rocket and artillery attack on the nearby villages under Syrian army control, according to Sputnik’s correspondent.
Among the towns attacked were Nubl and Zahraa – two towns in the Aleppo countryside that were besieged by HTS’s predecessor group, Al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front, from 2012 to 2016.
“Immediately after the attack, the Syrian army artillery began intensive shelling of the axes of the attack of the “Al-Nusra” militants, and the joint Syrian and Russian warplanes launched concentrated raids on the groups' rear supply lines, their firing positions, ammunition depots, and their military headquarters,” Sputnik’s correspondent went on to explain.
The clashes between the army and the extremist militants are currently ongoing.
According to Al Mayadeen, thousands of HTS fighters participated in the early morning attack. The outlet reported, citing sources in Idlib, that the extremist group has ordered hospitals in Idlib city and the countryside to stop all surgical operations and prepare to treat militants wounded in battle.