Forces loyal to Assad have made significant advances this week, capturing the key town of Maarat al-Numan with the help of brutal Russian aerial bombardment. In rebel hands since 2012, Maarat al-Numan lies on the coveted M5 highway connecting the capital to Aleppo.
Two suicide car bomb attacks targeted pro-regime forces in the Jamiyat al-Zahraa area west of Aleppo, with a third car bomb set off by remote control, according to a source within the extremist group that claimed responsibility for the attacks.
A news outlet linked to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a former Al-Qaeda affiliate that holds much of Idlib province, published a video on Saturday showing its fighters pledging allegiance to “allegiance to death and jihad” as the extremist faction’s leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani watches.
The two sides gave conflicting accounts of the attacks, Reuters reported.
Syrian state news agency SANA said regime troops destroyed four car bombs before they reached their targets, and an outlet run by Hezbollah, a key supporter of Assad, said regime forces had thwarted a “fierce attack” by Jolani’s militants.
But according to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham-linked Ebaa, the militant group’s forces were successful in their assault, capturing a group of houses on a hill overlooking Aleppo, which has been under full regime control since late 2016.
Around 50 kilometres (35 miles) northeast of Aleppo, Turkish-backed rebels assaulted regime-held positions near the city of Al-Bab, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Turkish forces did not take part in the attack, a rebel source added.
