Syrian rebels launch attack against army in Aleppo province

Syrian rebels in the last opposition enclave in northern Syria have launched a wide-scale military operation against the Syrian army and seized territory in the first such advance in years, army and rebel sources say.

The rebel offensive has overrun at least 10 areas under the control of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in northwestern Aleppo province, says a source in the operations room run by a coalition of insurgent groups led by the militant Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

The land incursion is the first such territorial advance since March 2020 when Russia, which backs Assad, and Turkey, which supports the rebels, agreed to a ceasefire that led to military action halting in Syria’s last major rebel stronghold in the country’s northwest.

Rebels advanced almost 10 km (6 miles) from the outskirts of Aleppo city and a few kilometres away from Nubl and Zahra, two Shi’ite towns where Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah has a strong militia presence, an army source says.

They have attacked Al-Nayrab airport east of Aleppo, where pro-Iranian militias have outposts.

Rebels say the campaign was in response to stepped-up strikes in recent weeks against civilians by the Russian and Syrian air force on areas in southern Idlib, and to preempt any attacks by the Syrian army, which was building up troops near front lines with rebels.

The army pounded areas near rebel-held Idlib city and the cities of Ariha and Sarmada along with other areas in southern Idlib province, according to an army source.