• Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, launched an attack on Syrian army positions in northwestern Aleppo, seizing at least ten areas—the first significant territorial gain since 2020.
• The attack was in response to weeks of airstrikes. The army retaliated with heavy shelling in Idlib, causing hundreds of families to flee towards the Turkish border.
Scores of Syrian army soldiers and rebel fighters have reportedly been killed in intense clashes in northern Aleppo province. The Hay’et Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) armed group and its allied forces have seized control of at least 10 territories previously held by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.
The offensive was reportedly launched in response to escalating airstrikes in recent weeks by the Russian and Syrian air forces in southern Idlib, which targeted civilian populations. Additionally, as reported by Reuters, it aimed to preempt potential assaults by the Syrian army, which had been amassing troops near frontlines with Hay’et Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied factions. The Syrian army retaliated by shelling areas near Idlib city and the towns of Ariha and Sarmada, as well as other regions in southern Idlib province, a military source confirmed. Consequently, hundreds of families fled towards the Turkish border.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that approximately 100 combatants lost their lives in the clashes on Wednesday, following an extensive offensive orchestrated by Hay’et Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which wields significant control over northwestern Syria. Activists associated with the observatory detailed that the casualties comprised 44 HTS fighters and 16 members of allied armed factions.
“Moreover, 37 members of the [Syrian] regime forces, including at least four officers of varying ranks, were killed, and five were captured, while weapon depots, armored vehicles, machinery, and heavy weaponry were seized,” the observatory stated.
The monitoring organisation further reported that civilians, including children, had been killed and injured amidst the hostilities, during which Syrian army forces launched “hundreds of shells and missiles on civil and military positions.”
HTS advanced nearly 10 kilometers (6 miles) from Aleppo’s outskirts and drew close to Nubl and Zahra, two Shiite-majority towns with a significant militia presence tied to Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah, according to an army source. They also targeted Al-Nayrab airport, east of Aleppo, where pro-Iranian militias maintain positions.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has been a primary target of Russian and Syrian military campaigns.
