Russian military officials have reported the deaths of three Assad regime soldiers and the wounding of two others following a counterattack by Revolutionary factions in northwestern Syria. The incident took place on the front lines of Idlib, an area that has been experiencing escalations in the ongoing attacks on civilians by the Assad regime and its Russian and Iranian allies.
Captain Oleg Ignasyuk, Deputy Head of the Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria, stated that the casualties occurred as Assad forces repelled a counteroffensive by 15 members of the Fath al-Mubeen Operations Room (FMOR), a coalition of revolutionary military factions. According to military analysts, the clashes occurred on the Nahshaba axis in Latakia’s countryside, a region that has recently witnessed skirmishes between regime forces and FMOR.
Revolutionary factions have claimed responsibility for the deaths of additional regime soldiers. Haya Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), reported that they killed four regime soldiers, including two officers, using a mortar shell on the Nahshaba axis. The slain officers were identified as First Lieutenant Yusuf Ibrahim and First Lieutenant Hayyan Salloum.
This recent uptick in violence is part of an increasing pattern of confrontations in northern Syria. Last month, members of the Assad regime were also killed in attacks by revolutionary groups in Latakia’s northern countryside. The National Liberation Front (NLF), a coalition of rebel factions, executed a successful military operation against regime positions on the Atira axis in Jabal al-Turkman, resulting in further regime casualties.
Despite a ceasefire agreement brokered between Russia and Turkey in March 2020, the Idlib region continues to be a flashpoint for violence. Regime forces, with support from Russian airstrikes, have frequently targeted civilians, markets, hospitals, clinics, and schools in the liberated areas, while revolutionary groups, including HTS, have retaliated with artillery and missile strikes against regime positions.
According to the Syrian Civil Defense, known as the White Helmets, there have been nearly 400 attacks by regime forces and their allies on northwestern Syria in the first half of 2024 alone. These attacks have resulted in the deaths of 38 civilians, including women and children, and injuries to over 150 others.
