Government forces say they’ve inflicted heavy losses on the terrorists as they attempt to neutralize the surprise offensive
Jihadist Hayat Tahrir-al-Sham (HTS) fighters have entered the Syrian city of Aleppo, the terrorist group claimed on Friday, two days after it launched a surprise offensive against Syrian government forces.
In a statement to Al Jazeera, HTS said that its militants had begun to press into several neighborhoods in the northern Syrian city, which has been controlled by government forces since 2016.
According to Türkiye’s Anadolu news agency, the jihadists have clashed with the Syrian Army inside Aleppo.
Video footage shared on social media purportedly showed HTS gunmen marauding through the city on foot and in armored vehicles. Earlier on Friday, the jihadists claimed to have seized some 400 square kilometers of territory in Aleppo and Idlib provinces, and to have captured heavy weaponry and other military hardware from the Syrian Army.
In a statement released shortly after the militants reached Aleppo, the Syrian Defense Ministry said “our armed forces were able to inflict heavy losses on the attacking organizations,” leaving hundreds dead and wounded.
The HTS fighters used a range of heavy weapons and drones in their attack, and their ranks include “large groups of foreign terrorist militants,” the ministry stated, adding that “our forces have succeeded in regaining control of some points that witnessed breaches during the past hours, and will continue combat operations until [the terrorists] are turned back.”
Russian and Syrian jets have carried out airstrikes against the jihadists, according to Syria’s Al Sham radio station. Russian Colonel Oleg Ignatiuk also claimed on Thursday that these strikes have eliminated more than 400 enemy combatants throughout Aleppo and Idlib provinces.
Before adopting its current name in 2017, Hayat Tahrir-al-Sham was known as Jabhat al-Nusra. Jabhat al-Nusra was one of the main factions opposing Bashar Assad’s government during the Syrian Civil War. Russia intervened in the conflict in 2015, helping Assad retake much of the country from Jabhat al-Nusra, Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS), and dozens of US-supported armed groups deemed “moderate rebels” by Washington.
Damascus has also accused Western countries of aiding terrorist groups in the country.
In an interview in 2021, Former US Special Representative for Syria Engagement James Jeffrey described HTS as “an asset” of Washington, while the group’s leader, a former Al Qaeda commander named Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, insisted that his organization “does not represent a threat” to Western interests.
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