Syrian army announces ‘redeployment operation’ in Aleppo, says dozens of troops killed

Syria’s military announces a “redeployment operation” in Aleppo, saying it is in order to prepare a counteroffensive against the insurgent attack.

“The large numbers of terrorists and the multiplicity of battlefronts prompted our armed forces to carry out a redeployment operation aimed at strengthening the defense lines in order to absorb the attack, preserve the lives of civilians and soldiers, and prepare for a counterattack,” the army says.

The Syrian military statement is the first public acknowledgement by the army that insurgents led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham had entered the government-held city of Aleppo in a surprise attack that began earlier this week.

The military adds that dozens of soldiers had been killed or injured in fierce battles with insurgents in Aleppo and Idlib over the past few days.

A military statement says “armed terrorist organizations” launched “a broad attack from multiple axes on the Aleppo and Idlib fronts” and reported fierce battles “over a strip exceeding 100 kilometers (60 miles).”

It adds “dozens of men from our armed forces were killed and others wounded” as “terrorist organizations were able over the past hours to enter large parts of neighborhoods of Aleppo city.”

The insurgent attack marks the most significant challenge in years to President Bashar al-Assad, jolting the frontlines of the Syrian civil war that have largely been frozen since 2020.