MOSCOW, 24 Mar-RIA Novosti, Andrey Kots. In the vicinity of Aleppo, it is again restless — the other day, the city was shelled by mobile units of militants from the group "Hayat Tahrir al-Sham"*. In response, the Russian Aerospace Forces launched a powerful airstrike on the control center, destroying the headquarters and destroying dozens of terrorists, including the leader. At the same time, the aircraft attacked several targets in the province of Idlib. About what is happening in Syria now - in the material of RIA Novosti.
Strikes on militants
The terrorists fired at residential areas of Aleppo with mortars and improvised rocket launchers-they damaged houses, cars, and shops. Several people were killed and the wounded were taken to the city hospital and the university hospital. Recall that Aleppo was finally liberated a year ago. The Syrian army has driven the gangs out of the eastern suburbs.
The militants have also become more active in other regions of the country. According to the Russian military, major provocations are being prepared. The deputy Head of the Center for Reconciliation of the Warring Parties in Syria, Rear Admiral Alexander Karpov, said that the terrorists intend to stage a chemical attack in the village of Kitian in the north-east of Idlib province in the near future. The militants are traditionally going to accuse the government forces of using prohibited weapons against civilians, in order to once again cause "serious concern" to the Western states.
The reaction of the official Damascus was not long in coming. According to Reuters, citing sources in Syria, Russian aircraft struck a terrorist target near the border crossing on the outskirts of the city of Sarmad, and a surface — to-surface missile hit a target in the city of Kakh.
Underground warehouses and headquarters of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militants (a terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation) in the area near Aleppo
Image source: © RIA Novosti
Before that, the Russian Aerospace Forces bombed the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group * a month ago. At the end of February, militants attacked the positions of the Syrian army in the south-west of the province of Idlib. Bombers and attack planes stopped the advance of the terrorists. The militants lost 70 people, 20 pieces of equipment.
Turkish Multi-passer
The more active the government forces are in Idlib, the less Turkey likes it. It is no secret that many militant groups in this province are directly supervised and supplied by Ankara. At the end of last week, the Turkish Defense Ministry accused the Syrian army of firing at non-military targets.
Russian and Turkish military patrol the Syrian Aleppo — Latakia highway
Image source: © RIA Novosti
"The regime of Bashar al-Assad, which previously attacked the hospital in Atarib, has now launched a missile attack on a residential area in the Idlib de-escalation zone and a parking lot of trucks and trailers," the military department said. "Many farm animals were killed, and seven civilians were injured."
Damascus has not responded to these accusations. Ankara sent Moscow a notice "on the immediate cessation of attacks", and the Turkish troops located in the region warned of the danger of shelling. On Tuesday, Russian Ambassador Alexey Yerokhov was summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry. As a source in the Turkish foreign Ministry told RIA Novosti, Ankara " conveyed to the Russian side our concern, especially with regard to the hospital. Our military also conveyed similar concerns to their Russian counterparts."
However, as recent events show, if anyone is to blame for escalating the situation, it is certainly not Ankara. Not so long ago, Russia expressed concern about the transfer of equipment of the Turkish armed forces and fortification works in the province of Raqqa.
"These actions violate the status quo established by the memorandum of understanding and undermine the efforts of both sides in resolving the Syrian conflict," the Center for Reconciliation of the Warring Parties in Syria said in an official statement.
As soon as the Turks gained a foothold in Raqqa, the shelling began from there. In particular, the other day, the gangs controlled by Ankara conducted mortar fire on the settlement of Al-Mualyak. Later, pro-Turkish militants fired at a convoy with civilians heading to the village of Seydou. However, Turkey's influence is most noticeable in Idlib.
"The situation in Idlib province remains frozen after about a year ago, the presidents of Russia and Turkey signed an agreement on the cessation of hostilities, on the demarcation of the line of fire," political analyst Kamran Hasanov told Sputnik radio. — But the topic of terrorists has not gone away. A certain part of Idlib is occupied by the armed opposition, which Russia also recognizes to some extent, but still the largest part is the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorists. Now the political settlement process is progressing and is receiving new formats. Recently, the foreign ministers of Qatar, Turkey and Russia met. Russia is trying to approach this issue from all sides in order to involve as many interested parties as possible and to ultimately achieve a full-scale settlement."
For the sake of oil
Despite the assurances of the head of the State Department, Anthony Blinken, that the Americans will no longer interfere in the affairs of other countries and overthrow governments, the Pentagon remains an important player in the Syrian civil war.
According to Alexey Pushkov, a member of the Federation Council, the United States continues to import dozens of fighters from Iraq to Syria. "In case of abandoning the policy of regime change, the new administration should stop military support for the jihadists in the area of the American base in at-Tanf in eastern Syria, close this base itself and withdraw all American troops. Something suggests that they will not do this, " Pushkov said.
US troops have been in Syria since 2014. They control the north-east of the country, where most of the oil fields are concentrated.
Together with their allies from the Kurdish formations of the "Forces of Democratic Syria" (SDF), the Americans organized the transportation of black gold to Iraq, from where the raw material enters the international market. According to the Syrian Minister of Oil and Mineral Resources, Bassam Tuome, the country has lost more than $ 92 billion due to the actions of the Americans. "They operate like pirates, targeting the country's oil wealth and ships that supply oil," he said.
It is obvious that the hydrocarbon spoils in Washington will not be abandoned. A large convoy of military vehicles was transferred to Syria from Iraq through the Al-Walid border checkpoint. The convoy of 40 trucks and several armored vehicles proceeded to the US military base located near the Harab al-Jir airfield in Hasakah province. Earlier it was reported about the deployment of additional facilities of the US armed forces in this region.
* A terrorist organization banned in Russia.
