Jerusalem – The Islamic extremist group has launched the largest military incursion against Syrian regime forces since 2020 in the war-torn northwest of the Syrian Arab Republic, with Russian and Syrian warplanes bombing the rebel offensive on Thursday. did.
Rebels led by the US-designated Islamist terrorist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham have attacked more than a dozen towns and villages in northwestern Aleppo province controlled by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces.
The Syrian Islamist offensive began on the same day that the Lebanon-based terrorist group Hezbollah, an ally of President Assad, reached a ceasefire agreement with Israel to end more than 14 months of war. .
The ongoing battle in Syria involves a diverse group of forces from the U.S.-designated state sponsor of terrorism, the Assad regime, and the Islamic Republic of Iran, fighting a Turkish-backed Islamist terrorist movement. President Vladimir Putin's Russian government faces accusations of war crimes during its invasion of Ukraine.
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Smoke rises during fighting between rebels and Syrian government forces in Majdaliyah, Syria's Idlib region on Thursday. (AP Photo/Ghaith Al-Sayed)
“This is a typical Putin strategy to show what's going on in Syria on Thanksgiving Day,” Rebecca Koffler, a former U.S. defense intelligence officer and Putin expert, told Fox News Digital. is conducting what is called a lateral deployment in Syria, which Mr. Biden has authorized. [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] President Zelenskiy plans to use the US ATACM to attack deep into Russia, and President Zelenskiy will accept Biden's proposal. Russia and the US are on opposite sides in the Syrian war. As a result, President Putin has gradually increased his support for President Assad, who opposes U.S. policy, and has signaled to Biden that he intends to counter U.S. interests in several regions. ”
On Wednesday, rebels took control of some villages in the western countryside as clashes between Bashar al-Assad's regime and the rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) continued in Aleppo, Syria. (Kasim Ranma/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Koffler added: “Putin is pressuring Biden to withdraw President Zelenskiy's authorization to use ATACM against Russia. The doctrine is 'escalate-to-de-escalate.'” With the recent Oreshnik hypersonic missile attack on Ukraine, Putin moved several steps up the escalation ladder with the Russian Air Force's participation in air strikes in rebel-held northwestern Syria, but the U.S. They are also moving laterally up the escalation ladder in order to outwit them. , I wouldn't be surprised if President Assad attacks, tipping Biden off balance and creating as much negotiating leverage as possible regarding Ukraine before President Trump begins his second term. Chemical weapons were again used in rebel-held areas. ”
Israeli Russia expert Alex Grinberg told Fox News Digital that the remaining Assad forces cannot fight Hayat Tahrir al-Sham without Russian air power.
He said this is “something Russians usually do” in Syria.
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Iranian regime-affiliated state media reported that Brigadier General Kiomars Purhashemi of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) was killed during the invasion in Aleppo. Mr. Pourhashemi was a senior military advisor to Syria's Revolutionary Guards.
On Wednesday, rebels took control of some villages in the western countryside as clashes between Bashar al-Assad's regime and the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel group continued in Aleppo, Syria. (Kasim Ranma/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Islamic rebels say the operation is a response to increased attacks on civilians in recent weeks by Russian and Syrian air forces in the southern region of Idlib, and that the Syrian army is building up forces near front lines. It is claimed that the purpose was to preempt an attack by line with the rebels.
The war against President Bashar al-Assad's people, which began in 2011 when Syrians demanded democracy, has resulted in the deaths of more than 500,000 people.
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Iran has sent thousands of fighters to Syria during the Syrian war. This includes members of the Guard, who serve as official advisors, but the majority are Shi'ite militias from across the region.
Turkish security sources said on Thursday that the rebels initially launched limited operations in response to attacks by Syrian government forces, but expanded their operations after government forces abandoned their positions.
Reuters contributed to this report.
