Russia and Syria bomb Syrian Islamist rebels after surprise incursion

A radical Islamist group unleashed its biggest military incursion against Syrian regime forces since 2020 in the northwest of the war-ravaged Syrian Arab Republic, triggering Russian and Syrian warplanes on Thursday to bomb the insurgent offensive.

Rebels led by the U.S-designated Islamist terrorist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham stormed a dozen towns and villages in northwest Aleppo province, which is controlled by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces.

The Syrian Islamist offensive started on the same day that Assad's ally, the Lebanese-based terrorist organization, Hezbollah, reached a ceasefire agreement with Israel to end over 14 months of warfare.

Alex Grinberg, an Israeli expert on Russia, told Fox News Digital that the rest of Assad's army cannot fight against Hayat Tahrir al-Sham without Russian air power. 

He said this is "usually what the Russians do" in Syria.

Iranian regime-controlled state media said that Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Kioumars Pourhashemi was killed in Aleppo during the incursion. Pourhashemi was a senior IRGC military adviser in Syria.

Islamist rebels say the campaign was in response to stepped-up strikes in recent weeks against civilians by the Russian and Syrian air forces on areas in southern Idlib, and to preempt any attacks by the Syrian army, which they said was building up troops near front lines with rebels.

Assad's war against his population, which started with Syrians calling for democracy in 2011, has resulted in the murders of over 500,000 people.

Iran has sent thousands of fighters to Syria during the Syrian war. While these have included members of the Guards, officially serving as advisers, the bulk have been Shi'ite militiamen from all over the region.

Turkish security sources said on Thursday the rebels initially launched a limited operation after attacks by Syrian government forces, and expanded the operation after government forces abandoned their positions.

Reuters contributed to this report.