An attack led by Hayat Tahrir-al-Sham has failed to establish permanent positions in Aleppo, the country’s General Command has said
The Syrian military is not allowing terrorists that launched a surprise offensive on Aleppo to establish well-entrenched positions in the city and is gathering forces for a counterattack, the country’s General Command has said. It admitted, however, that dozens of its troops have been killed in the fighting.
Earlier this week, the Hayat Tahrir-al-Sham (HTS) terrorist group, an offshoot of Jabhat al-Nusra, and its allies launched the first major attack in Syria in years, capturing large swaths of land in Idlib and Aleppo and pushing back government forces.
In a statement on Saturday, the Syrian General Command said that the attack was “supported by thousands of foreign terrorists, heavy weapons, and a large number of drones.” It said that the military has fought battles over an area exceeding 100km in a bid to halt their advance.
Absolutely wild scenes from Aleppo today, as islamic terrorists raise the flag of jihad above the Citadel.
Civilians, minorities and ancient heritage are all in grave danger.
Damascus acknowledged that “dozens of our forces were killed and others were wounded during the battles,” without giving exact figures.
The Command added that the terrorist forces have been able “to enter large parts of Aleppo city” but failed “to establish their positions due to the continued concentrated and strong strikes by our armed forces.” The military is also expecting reinforcements to arrive for a counterattack, the statement added. Authorities are making every effort to ensure the safety of people and to regain control of the entire area, it said.
Meanwhile, unverified videos circulating on social media appear to show the militants in the center of Aleppo, with one clip depicting an armed man waving a flag at the gates of the city’s historic citadel.
The Syrian military’s response to the attack was backed by Russian airstrikes. According to Oleg Ignasyuk, deputy head of the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria, Russian and Syrian forces have eliminated about 600 militants over the past two days.
Moscow intervened militarily in Syria in 2015, helping the government of Bashar Assad inflict heavy defeats on numerous terrorist groups, most notably al-Nusra and Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS). Russia maintains a significant military footprint in the country, with bases in Hmeimim and Tartus.
