IDLIB – The Russian-backed Division 25 affiliated with the Syrian government forces conducted advanced military training in central and northwest Syria, which is considered a major stronghold for Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front) and other Turkish-backed mercenaries, at the request of Russian forces in order to fight in Ukraine, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said, Thursday.
The Division 25 led by Suhail al-Hassan, Known as “Tiger”, is the major fighting group in the Russian-air-backed government’s battles in northwestern Syria.
These military drills are an attempt by Russia to send clear messages to the international community that Syrian military Divisions of the “regime’s army” are on standby to fight alongside Russians in the Russian-Ukrainian war in the event of escalating fighting, according to SOHR.
The tensions continues on high in the region as a large convoy of the Turkish military entered the northwestern Syrian region of Greater Idlib on March 17 through the Ayn al-Bayda border crossing, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). According to the monitoring group, the convoy’s vehicles will be redeployed to Turkish posts in the towns of Kansafra, Baluon and Shnan in the al-Zawiya Mount in the southern Idlib countryside on March 18. The fascist turkish state has more than 60 positions in Greater Idlib, which is tightly controlled by al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
Recently, on the March 24, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) carried out a series of artillery strikes on the northwestern Syrian region of Greater Idlib. The artillery strikes targeted positions of al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in the outskirts of the town of Takad in the western countryside of Aleppo. HTS is the de-facto ruler of Greater Idlib.
According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the SAA’s strikes killed a fighter of HTS and wounded several others.
The Russian Sputnik news agency cited sources as saying that the “Tiger conducted advanced military drills for the third consecutive day in areas in Idlib for airdrops by members the Division 25 Special Missions.” The “Division 25 special operations”, which was formed in 2013, spreads on contested front-lines in the Syrian Desert as well as dlib fronts.
