Syrian Opposition Says Thwarts Regime Infiltration Attempt in Aleppo Countryside

Syrian opposition fighters in the Aleppo countryside. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Syrian opposition fighters in the Aleppo countryside. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Syrian Opposition Says Thwarts Regime Infiltration Attempt in Aleppo Countryside

Syrian opposition fighters in the Aleppo countryside. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Syrian opposition fighters in the Aleppo countryside. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Syrian opposition announced on Sunday that it had thwarted an attempt by the regime and Iranian militias to infiltrate areas of its influence in the Aleppo countryside.

The opposition also announced that it had carried out a surprise attack in the Latakia countryside, killing a member of the regime forces and wounding dozens of others.

Opposition activists said the armed factions thwarted the infiltration in the western Aleppo countryside amid fierce clashes and heavy artillery fire. Tanks and rocket launchers were used in the fighting that left eleven people dead and wounded from the regime.

The regime continued its shelling of the area. No reports of casualties among civilians were reported.

In Latakia, a leading opposition faction member said they launched a surprise attack in the al-Bayda region in the eastern part of the province.

Three military positions were destroyed and at least 20 regime forces members were killed and wounded.

The opposition figure said the operation was launched in retaliation to regime violations in civilian areas and its failed attempts at infiltrating opposition-held regions in northwestern Syria.

He revealed that three infiltration attempts were thwarted last month alone.

The attempts took place in Atarib city in the western Aleppo countryside, Jabal al-Zawiya in southern Idlib and Jabal al-Turkman and al-Akrad in the eastern Latakia countryside.

The infiltrations were carried out by the regime and allied Iranian and Afghan militias.

The developments took place as opposition factions were on high alert and as they reinforced their military positions along the contact lines with the regime in Idlib and Aleppo.

Fears have been high that the regime was preparing to launch a new military offensive, taking advantage of Türkiye’s recent attacks against the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces.



Lebanon Detains Several People on Suspicion of Firing Rockets at Israel

A view shows a damaged site in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, as Israeli troops withdrew from most of south Lebanon, in Lebanon, February 19, 2025. (Reuters)
A view shows a damaged site in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, as Israeli troops withdrew from most of south Lebanon, in Lebanon, February 19, 2025. (Reuters)
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Lebanon Detains Several People on Suspicion of Firing Rockets at Israel

A view shows a damaged site in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, as Israeli troops withdrew from most of south Lebanon, in Lebanon, February 19, 2025. (Reuters)
A view shows a damaged site in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, as Israeli troops withdrew from most of south Lebanon, in Lebanon, February 19, 2025. (Reuters)

The Lebanese military said it has detained a group of people linked to firing rockets into Israel last month.

In a statement issued late Wednesday night, the army said it had detained several people, including a number of Palestinians, who were involved in firing rockets in two separate attacks toward Israel in late March that triggered intense Israeli airstrikes on parts of Lebanon. Lebanon’s Hezbollah group denied at the time it was behind the firing of rockets, The Associated Press reported.

The army said that a vehicle and other equipment used in the rockets attacks were confiscated and the detainees were referred to judicial authorities. The army said it had carried out raids in different parts of Lebanon to detain the suspects without giving further details.

On Thursday, the state-run National News Agency reported that Gen. Rodolph Haikal briefed a weekly cabinet meeting about the security situation along the border and the ongoing implementation of the UN Security Council resolution that ended the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war.

Three security and one judicial official told The Associated Press that four Palestinians linked to the Hamas group are being questioned.

A Hamas official told the AP that several members of the group were detained in Lebanon recently and released shortly afterward adding that they were not involved in firing rockets into Israel. He said in one case authorities detained a Hamas member who was carrying an unlicensed pistol.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Hezbollah started launching attacks on Israel a day after the Israel-Hamas war erupted on Oct. 7, 2023 with the Palestinian militants’ attack on southern Israel. The war that left more than 4,000 people dead in Lebanon and caused wide destruction ended in late November with a US-brokered ceasefire.

Since the ceasefire went into effect in late November, Israel has carried out almost daily airstrikes that left dozens of civilians and Hezbollah members dead.

On Tuesday, the office of the UN high commissioner for human rights said that at least 71 civilians, including 14 women and nine children, have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon since a ceasefire took effect.