10/04/2015 Russian servicemen attach a Kh-25 high-precision missile to a Su-24 aircraft at the Khmeimim airbase in Syria. Dmitriy Vinogradov/RIA Novosti
On June 18 and 19, warplanes of the Russian Aerospace Forces and the Syrian Arab Air Force (SyAAF) stuck several militant targets in the outskirt of Idlib’s city center for the first time in three months.
Opposition activists said that the Russian and Syrian airstrikes targeted several positions around the city, including the district of al-Sina’a. Many workshops and small factories are reportedly located there.
Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its allies are known for storing weapons inside civilian buildings in Idlib’s city center and around it. In late 2017, a truck carrying ammo for the group exploded near a football stadium in the heart of the city. More than a year later, an ammo depot located inside Idlib’s collage exploded.
Despite this, the Russian Aerospace Forces and the SyAAF usually avoid hitting targets inside Idlib’s city center as the area is heavily populated.
