The Russian airstrikes, which became first in 2021, hit several hills in outskirts of the town of Kabani. The town is an infamous stronghold of many al-Qaeda factions, including Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamic Turkistan Party and Ajnad al-Kavkaz.
The airstrikes on Kabani were conducted by Su-24M attack aircraft, which took off from Russia’s Hmeimim Air Base in the southern countryside of Lattakia.
Su24 pic.twitter.com/v8vfE34Xj9
— ZOKA (@200_zoka) January 9, 2021
A day earlier, the HTS-led al-Fateh al-Mubeen Operations Room targeted Syrian military positions in northern Lattakia. Opposition sources claimed that a number of Syrian soldiers and a Russian officer were injured. Today’s airstrikes were likely a response to that attack.
Greater Idlib militants have been becoming more and more aggressive. The ceasefire in the region, which was brokered by Russia and Turkey on March 5 of 2020, is being violated on a daily basis.
The March 5 agreement has so far failed to stabilize Greater Idlib. The region’s militants are still unwilling to accept peaceful efforts. A large-scale operation seems to be needed to open the Lattakia-Aleppo highway, M4, as well as to restore the stability there.
source:southfront.org
