At least 57 people, including 31 Syrian soldiers and 26 fighters from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and other groups, were killed in clashes after an attack by HTS and its allies on government positions in northern Syria.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the deaths occurred during a military operation, called “Deterring Aggression,” launched by HTS and its allies early Tuesday.
The group said the goal was to “expand safe areas for the return of our people.”
Fighting factions quickly captured more than 17 villages and towns in western Aleppo countryside after intense clashes with government forces, leaving them just 10 kilometers from Aleppo city.
In response, the Syrian government sent reinforcements and launched hundreds of shell and rocket strikes on civilian and military sites in the area.
Syrian and Russian warplanes also carried out 22 airstrikes, some targeting HTS positions in Idlib.
HTS, along with smaller opposition groups, controls about half of Idlib and its surroundings.
This area is designated a de-escalation zone, where a ceasefire has been in place since March 2020 under an agreement between Moscow and Ankara.
However, the region regularly sees sporadic clashes and airstrikes from Damascus and Moscow.
In related news, Türkiye has sent a large military reinforcement to the Euphrates Shield area, controlled by its forces and allied Syrian National Army factions in Aleppo, as well as to its positions in Idlib.
This comes amid rising tensions with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the offensive by HTS on Syrian army positions in Aleppo.
A Turkish military convoy entered the Euphrates Shield area from the Bab al-Salama border crossing in northern Aleppo on Wednesday. The convoy included trucks carrying heavy weapons, tanks, and armored vehicles to a Turkish position near the town of Mariamin, north of Aleppo.
On Tuesday, Turkish reinforcements arrived at Mount Zawiya in southern Idlib, part of the Russian-Turkish de-escalation zone.
The convoy, which entered through the Kafr Lousin border crossing, included around 50 vehicles, mostly artillery and tanks. These forces were stationed at a base near the frontlines with Syrian army-controlled areas.
The reinforcements arrived amid rising tensions along the frontlines with the SDF in Aleppo, military escalation by HTS in the city, and increased Syrian army activity in Idlib.
In one development, the Manbij Military Council, part of the SDF, launched a raid on positions held by the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army near the village of Umm Jlood in eastern Aleppo, part of the Euphrates Shield zone.
Clashes also took place near al-Hamran village in western Manbij, and the Syrian National Army shelled the villages of Umm Jlood and Arab Hassan.
Additionally, two fighters from the Turkish-backed Sham Legion were killed, and three others wounded in a raid by the SDF in the Kafr Khashir area north of Aleppo.
The northern Aleppo countryside saw exchanges of shelling between the SDF and Turkish forces on Monday near the Mareh axis and Tuesday near the Harbel axis, with shells landing near a Turkish base in Tel Malid village, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
