Two Waves Of Russian Airstrikes Hit Syria’s Greater Idlib After Ceasefire Violations (Photos)

A Russian Su-24 aircaft on a runway at the Hmeimim airbase in Syria. © Maksim Blinov / Sputnik

Two waves of Russian airstrikes hit the northwestern Syria region of Greater Idlib on September 25 and 27 in response to recent ceasefire violations by al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its allies.

The airstrikes targeted the towns of al-Halwbah in the southern Idlib countryside and al-Enkawi in the northwestern countryside of Hama. They considered intense artillery strikes by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) on other parts of Greater Idlib.

HTS and its allies violated the ceasefire in Greater Idlib, which was brokered by Russia and Turkey more than three years ago, on several occasions in recent weeks.

Recent violations included a raid in the northern Lattakia countryside on September 15 that claimed the lives of an officer and three soldiers of the SAA, a missile strike against a tank in the southern Idlib countryside on September 23 and a drone attack on the northwestern Hama countryside that wounded four civilians on September 25.

Earlier this month, a series of Syria and Russian retaliatory strikes targeted Greater Idlib. Some 111 militants were killed and at least 80 others were wounded in the strikes. However, HTS and its allies remain undeterred.

Despite recent escalation by HTS and its allies, the SAA will not likely launch a ground operation in Greater Idlib any time soon. Turkey, who maintains a large military presence in the region, continues to oppose such a move.

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