Al-Qaida-linked group claims major advance in Syria, army says it’s fighting back

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A photo released by Syrian official media shows what it says is damage caused by a missile attack on a university campus in Aleppo launched by al-Qaida-linked rebel forces. The rebel group, Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham, or HTS, claimed major advances against the government in the countryside of Idlib and Aleppo provinces. Photo by Syrian Arab News Agency/ Facebook

Nov. 29 (UPI) — An al-Qaida-linked rebel group operating in Syria says it launched a major offensive and has gained territory in the country’s northwest but the Syrian army said Friday the attack has been repelled.

Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham, known as HTS, and affiliated factions operating under the banner of “Deterrence of Aggression” said in a statement they have taken control of 20 villages, towns, and positions in the countryside of Idlib and Aleppo provinces following three days of intense clashes, according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

HTS also claimed it entered five neighborhoods in the city of Aleppo following a pair of suicide operations amid the first “violent clashes” clashes in the city since 2016. The group said it had captured the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center on the outskirts of the city.

HTS and its predecessor, Jabhat al-Nusra, were formed during the Syrian civil war against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al- Assad and has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States since 2018, despite an official split from al-Qaida. Its stated aims include the establishment of Islamic rule in Syria via “toppling the criminal Assad regime and expelling the Iranian militias.”

The Syrian army, meanwhile, announced Friday its forces have successfully repelled the HTS offensive using heavy and medium weapons, including drones.

“Our armed forces have inflicted heavy losses to the attacking groups, causing hundreds of deaths and injuries among the terrorists,” the army said in a statement posted on social media . “We have destroyed dozens of vehicles and armored units and have downed 17 drones.

“Our armed forces continue to reinforce all points on the various engagement axes with equipment and soldiers to prevent terrorist violations on those axes and repel their attacks,” the statement read. “Our forces have succeeded in regaining control of some of the points that witnessed violations during the past hours.”

The state-run … Read More