DAMASCUS (Dispatches) – The Syrian and Russian air forces on Monday carried out coordinated airstrikes in the Idlib and Latakia suburbs in Syria.
The strikes targeted camps belonging to the terrorist Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham group in the al-Bassel forests west of Idlib city, as well as the hills surrounding the towns of Sheikh Bahr and Kfar Jales, according to al-Mayadeen’s correspondent.
Additionally, the airstrikes targeted an underground vehicle depot near the cannery factory in Idlib city.
Al-Mayadeen’s correspondent further mentioned that the Syrian-Russian strikes also hit areas controlled by militants in the hills of Kabani, in Latakia’s countryside.
The Syrian army had previously targeted the headquarters of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham leaders as they arrived at a location near the town of Nayrab, east of Idlib in northern Syria.
Al-Mayadeen’s correspondent in Syria said the Syrian forces targeted the headquarters near one of the Turkish observation points using two one-way aircraft.
The developments came as a war monitor reported on Sunday that the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militant group and allied factions in northern Syria are gearing up for a large-scale attack against Syrian government forces in key areas, taking advantage of the violence resulting from the Israeli military showdown with Hezbollah and the potential involvement of Syria.
The HTS, a former al-Qaeda affiliate, and allied militant groups are planning a massive attack on government-controlled areas, including Aleppo, Latakia, Hama, and Idlib, according to the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The group’s “Popular Resistance Companies” initiated a new recruitment campaign, seeking medical, administrative, and combat personnel, said the Observatory.