Syrian rebel forces have seized strategic villages in northwestern Syria after intense clashes with Russian-backed Syrian government forces.
Some rebel groups affiliated with the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) have joined the operation, though the majority of those forces have so far refrained from participating, according to reports.
Since Wednesday, footage circulating on social media has shown HTS and aligned forces making significant advances, capturing large swathes of territory and progressing rapidly towards the outskirts of Aleppo city.
Iran’s SNN news agency reported on Thursday that Iranian Revolutionary Guards Brigadier General Kioumars Pourhashemi was killed in Aleppo by “terrorists” linked to Israel, without giving further details.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 142 fighters from both sides have been killed in the past 24 hours.
A senior Turkish security source told MEE that Turkey attempted to prevent the offensive to avoid further escalating tensions in the region, especially given Israel’s wars on Gaza and Lebanon.
If they are going to do something now would be the time. The Russian economy is crashing and they are throwing everything they have into the meat grind in Ukraine.
Slava Ukraini!