The opposition factions in northwestern Syria announced their control over new areas as part of the “Deterrence of Aggression” operation, getting closer to the gates of Aleppo.
As of the time this news was released, Enab Baladi has counted 33 points controlled by the “Deterrence of Aggression” factions, including towns, villages, and military sites, through separate announcements from the Military Operations Administration.
In the latest results of the operation, the opposition factions announced today, Thursday, November 28, their control over the town of al-Zarba, thereby cutting off the international highway connecting Aleppo and Damascus.
They also announced the capture of the town of Khan al-Asal, located at the northern edge of the M5 international highway, just two kilometers from the city of Aleppo in northern Syria.
Among the key points controlled by the opposition factions are the 46th Regiment, and the towns of Ainjara, Kafr Naha, Yaqid al-Adas, Orm al-Kubra, Qabtan al-Jabal, and the Administrative Affairs block.
In the southeastern Idlib axis, the opposition factions have taken control of Kafr Battikh, the oil plant barrack, Dadikh and Joubas.
They also announced the seizure of 12 tanks, two BMP vehicles, machine guns, and mortars, and captured 20 elements from the regime’s forces, one of whom is an officer, in addition to killing 200 elements from the regime and Iranian militias, according to the Military Operations Administration.
As part of what they called the Shahin Brigades, they announced the destruction of a rocket launcher site at the police school near Khan al-Asal and a helicopter at the al-Nairab airport east of Aleppo.
The Shahin Brigades are responsible for using drone weapons during the operation, marking the first official announcement from the factions operating in Idlib about their use of attack drones, beyond reconnaissance tasks.
On Wednesday, November 27, the opposition factions launched a military operation termed “Deterrence of Aggression,” targeting military points associated with the regime west of Aleppo and taking control of several towns, villages, and military sites.
The factions stated that the operations aim to return 100,000 displaced people to their homes and lands, serving as a response to the regime and Russia’s repeated attacks on civilian areas in northwestern Syria.
The Military Operations Administration urged regime forces to “defect and side with the people,” threatening them with a “certain fate” if they do not defect.
In response, the regime commented on the developments in northern Syria a day after the opposition factions launched the “Deterrence of Aggression” operation.
Today, the regime’s Ministry of Defense stated that its forces repelled what it described as a “terrorist attack” that is still ongoing and inflicted “heavy losses” on the “attacking terrorist groups.”
It added that what it labeled as “armed terrorist groups” in the Idlib and Aleppo countryside launched an attack on a wide front with large numbers of “terrorists” using medium and heavy weapons, targeting safe villages, towns, and “our military points” in those areas.
Civilian-populated areas in western Aleppo and the Idlib countryside have been subjected to escalations from regime forces and Russian air forces, resulting in the deaths of 15 civilians, including four children and two women, and injuries to five others, due to airstrikes on the town of al-Atarib west of Aleppo, according to the Syria Civil Defence rescue organization.
Additionally, four civilians were killed, and 21 others, including seven children, were injured in a preliminary toll due to shelling by the regime and Russia on the city of Darat Izza.