Jihadist militiamen launched this Wednesday a surprise attack against the Syrian Army in rural areas of the northern province of Aleppo, triggering clashes in which 57 combatants were killed, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH).
The fierce fighting occurred after “an operation launched by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)“, indicated the OSDH, in reference to a jihadist group led by the former Syrian branch of Al Qaeda which controls the last rebel stronghold of the country, in the northwest.
According to the OSDH, “26 members of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and allied factions” were killed, as well as “31 members of the regime forces” of Bashar al Assad.
The air forces of both Syria and its ally Russia attacked jihadists in the area for the first time in years, said the observatory, which is based in Britain but has a wide network of informants in Syria.
The Reuters news agency noted that in the clashes, which began early Wednesday morning, Armed groups affiliated with HTS took control of numerous strategic points and towns in the western rural areas of Aleppo, which were under the control of the Assad regime. As a result, the area controlled today by HTS has reached 138 square kilometers.
Jihadist groups have advanced to within 8 kilometers of the city center of Aleppo, and intense fighting is reported to continue.
Meanwhile, The Assad regime has attacked civilian settlements with ground-to-ground weaponry during the ongoing offensive. Large numbers of civilians sought refuge in rural areas of Idlib.
The OSDH also reported that at least four civilians were killed and twelve others were wounded, including eight children, in rural areas near Idlib, the last rebel stronghold in Syria.
The Syrian conflict, which broke out in 2011 after Bashar al Assad’s regime repressed anti-government protests, has left more than 500,000 dead, displaced millions, and severely damaged the country’s infrastructure and industry.
Today, the country is divided, with Syrian President Bashar al Assad once again controlling two-thirds of the country with the help of his allies Russia and Iran. There is still no political solution in sight to the conflict.
(With information from AFP and Reuters)
