Dozens of people have died in fighting and clashes between the syrian army y armed Islamist groups on the outskirts of the northern Syrian cities of Idlib y Aleppowhere Islamist factions began a protest on Wednesday broad offensive, in which Syrian jihadists and their allies cut a key highway connecting the north with the capital Damascus, various sources reported this Thursday.
The Syrian Army confirmed in a statement that its armed forces continue to face “a major terrorist attack, on a wide front” on the outskirts of Idlib and Aleppowhile the NGO Syrian Observatory for Human Rights He assured that more than 130 people died in the fighting.
The General Command of the Syrian Army confirmed this Thursday in a statement the clashes with radical Islamist factions integrated into the Against Nusraand assured that “It inflicted great losses of equipment and lives on them.”.
He explained that “armed terrorist organizations under the so-called ‘Al-Nusra Terrorist Front’ (…) they launched a large attack on a wide front on the morning of Wednesday 11/27/2024 with a large number of terrorists and using heavy means and weapons.”
According to the note, reproduced by the official Syrian news agency, A LOTthe alliance of Islamist groups “They target safe towns and cities and our military points in these regions.”
“Our armed forces responded to the terrorist attack, which is still ongoingand the attacking terrorist organizations suffered heavy losses in equipment and lives. Our forces are confronting terrorist organizations with various means of fire and in cooperation with friendly forces he added in veiled allusion to Russiawhich participates with its aviation in the conflict in support of the Damascus government.
The note did not specify details or numbers of victims, although The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights highlighted this Thursday that a total of 132 people have lost their lives in the fightingamong them 49 Syrian uniformed menincluding four officers.
The Observatory said that the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied factions launched a surprise attack on the Syrian army in the northern province of Aleppo. The HTS, led by the former Syrian branch of Al Qaedacontrols much of northwest Idlib and some areas of the neighboring provinces of Aleppo, Hama and Latakia.
According to the NGO, based in the United Kingdom and a wide network of collaborators on the ground, among those killed in the fighting some 65 combatants who belong to the Levant Liberation Agencyalliance that controls most of Idlibwest of Aleppoas well as 18 of the opposition group called National Army.
One of the victims was a general of the Iranian Revolutionary GuardIranian media reported. “The general Kiyomarth Porhasham“I died in an attack by Takfiri mercenaries (Sunni extremists) of the Zionist regime (Israel) in Aleppo,” the agency reported. More. The media outlet described Porhashmi as a senior Revolutionary Guard official who commanded “Iranian advisors” in Aleppo.
The elite Iranian military corps has “advisors” in Syria, one of its allies in the Middle East and which is part of the so-called Resistance Axisthe anti-Israel alliance led by Tehran and which includes the Palestinians of Hamasthe Lebanese of Hezbollah and the Houthis of Yemen, among others.
These would be the Bloodiest fighting in Syria in yearsand surpasses in victims the drone attack that in October 2023 left more than 80 dead at a military academy in the province of Homs.
The observatory, which had reported on Wednesday at least 89 dead in those combatsalso indicated today that the attacking groups managed to control at least four villages “after violent combats”, in which – he assured – ““Russian military aircraft have intensified their attacks since the early hours of the morning.” this Thursday against positions of Islamist groups.
According to the Syrian Observatory, Russian aviation carried out 21 attacks against various areas on the outskirts of Aleppo and Idlib. At least eight civilians, including four children, were killed in an attack against the city of Al Atareb.
The NGO said that HTS was able to advance in the province of Idlibtaking control of Dadikh, Kafr Batikh y Sheikh Ali “after strong clashes with regime forces with Russian air cover.”
“The towns are of strategic importance due to their proximity to the M5 international motorway″said the Observatory, which later added that Syrian jihadists and their allies said they managed to cut the Aleppo-Damascus international highway.
The Islamist alliance controls most of the neighboring province of Idlibconsidered the last opposition bastion in the country, and where a ceasefire agreed by the Government has been in force since 2020. Türkiye -supporter of the Syrian opposition- and Russiaally of the Syrian dictator’s government Bashar al Assad.
That ceasefire has been violated on numerous occasions in recent years.
The Assad regime, with the support of Russian and Iranian forces, regained control of much of the country since the war broke out in 2011, which has left more than half a million dead and millions displaced.
(With information from EFE, AFP and Reuters)
