By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

Militants from the Jabhat al-Nusra group started on Wednesday an offensive against government troops in northern Syria and are currently trying to cut the Damascus-Aleppo international highway, Syrian media reported.

A military statement published by the Syrian state news agency SANA on Thursday reported that “armed terrorist organizations grouped under so-called ‘Nusra terrorist front’ present in Aleppo and Idlib provinces launched a large, broad-fronted attack”.

The statement noted that the attack, involving “medium and heavy weapons, targeted safe villages and towns and our military sites in those areas.”  

According to the military, the army, “in cooperation with friendly forces,” confronted the ongoing attack and inflicted “heavy losses” on the armed groups, though no details about army losses were provided.  

Before the rebel-led offensive, the Idlib region had been under a ceasefire – frequently violated but largely holding – brokered by Turkiyeh and Russia in March 2020.  

Intense fighting between the Syrian army and the al-Nusra Front terrorist group persists for a second day, involving heavy shelling and missile strikes that have resulted in significant casualties in northern Syria. pic.twitter.com/NpQJCRAe8W

— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) November 28, 2024

The previous day, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an Islamist group dominating rebel-held northwest Syria, and its allied factions launched a surprise offensive in northern Aleppo province. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights described the event as some of the fiercest fighting in years.  

On Thursday, HTS members reportedly cut the Damascus-to-Aleppo highway during clashes with government forces, which resulted in the deaths of approximately 200 people.

HTS and allied factions, including groups supported by Turkiye, reportedly disrupted the Damascus-Aleppo international M5 highway and gained control of the junction connecting it to the M4 highway. This junction links the capital to Aleppo and Latakia, a coastal stronghold of the Syrian regime.  

Clashes between regime forces and rebels have been reported in areas near Idlib and Aleppo provinces, less than 10 kilometers (6 miles) southwest of Aleppo city. 

(The Palestine Chronicle)