Civilians in Idlib (Syria) burning the photo of al-Golani
The Pentagon has confirmed that the US-led coalition has carried out strikes against the leaders of an al-Qaeda-linked militant group north of the city of Idlib, Idlib province, Syria, AFP has reported, citing a statement by the US Central Command.
Earlier, local media reported that the coalition had launched a missile attack against the headquarters of Hurras ad-Din, an insurgent group affiliated with al-Qaeda which has waged a war with Syrian government forces during the Syrian conflict.
US attacks on non-Daesh (ISIS) targets in Syria are relatively rare, and the coalition previously reported attacking al-Qaeda linked militants at a meeting of commanders west of Aleppo in late June.
Unconfirmed footage and photos purporting to show the damage caused by Saturday's strike has appeared online.
According to local media,
Saturday's strike killed over 40 militants and field commanders, with Tahrir al-Sham (Nusra Front) commander Abu Mohammad al-Julani also reportedly present at the meeting; his fate remains unknown.
Commanders of 'moderate' pro-Turkish armed opposition forces were also said to be at the meeting.The strike is thought to have completely destroyed the two story building in which the meeting took place. It's unclear whether the coalition used aircraft or cruise missiles to carry out the strike.
Earlier Saturday, the Russian military's centre for reconciliation announced that a
truce would enter force in the Idlib de-escalation zone in northwestern Syria, with the centre calling on the leaders of armed groups operating in the province to stop their provocations and to join the peace process instead.
Comment: The new
ceasefire came into effect early today. Neither the Syrians nor Russians were in the skies when the U.S. launched its strike. Moon of Alabama
reports:
The Turkish President Erdogan changed his position on Idlib after his recent visit to Moscow. He stopped the supplies to the 'rebels' to allow the Syrian campaign against them to succeed. The so called 'rebels' it has long supported now turn against it.
Another data point that confirms that take is a sudden lack of anti-armor missiles in the hand of the 'rebels':
The use of anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM) by militant groups against the Syrian Army in Idlib province has fallen to almost zero as of the final days of August.
...
Since the Syrian Army kicked-off its Greater Idlib ground offensive against Islamist groups in early May, about 100 guided missiles from various systems have been used by militant groups during the three and a half months since.
It is pretty obvious that Turkey ended its missile supply to the 'rebels':
[O]ne only needs to assess the current attitude on pro-militant social media right now - an attitude which is highly critical of Turkey's lack of intervention in Idlib, a major part of this lack of intervention being identified by these sources as the sudden "collapse" (or rather, withholding) of ATGM supplies by Turkey.
The cutting off of supplies for the Jihadists in Idlib and the closing of the borders to 'rebels' who want to flee to Turkey made the country a target for those fighters. The Turkish president may well have calculated that killing their leaders now will lessen the danger of getting attacked by them.
It looks as if this was planned,
possibly with coordination between the Americans and the Russians (and Turkey?), i.e. the unilateral ceasefire is put into effect, giving 'clear skies' from which the U.S. can then bomb al-Qaeda leadership positions. It looks like the terrorists may finally have been abandoned by their masters...
UPDATE: The Russians have commented on the strike, saying it was NOT coordinated with them or Turkey:
Sending no warning to Russia or Turkey, the US bombed an array of targets within Idlib, Syria, killing numerous civilians and threatening the hard-earned truce across the province, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
The air raid led to "multiple casualties and destruction" around two villages in the Idlib province, where a fragile ceasefire between government forces and militants is still in place, the Russian Reconciliation Center said on Sunday. The airstrike, carried out on Saturday, "endangered the truce" and "violated all previous arrangements."
Earlier, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it targeted leaders of a group it calls al-Qaeda in Syria. The strike "will further degrade their ability to conduct future attacks and destabilize the region," it claimed.
But it hit shortly after Syrian government forces began a unilateral truce in the rebel-held province, Russia's Defense Ministry noted. The Syrian Army is still sticking to the ceasefire despite militant attacks provoked by the US bombing.
Comment: The new ceasefire came into effect early today. Neither the Syrians nor Russians were in the skies when the U.S. launched its strike. Moon of Alabama reports: It looks as if this was planned, possibly with coordination between the Americans and the Russians (and Turkey?), i.e. the unilateral ceasefire is put into effect, giving 'clear skies' from which the U.S. can then bomb al-Qaeda leadership positions. It looks like the terrorists may finally have been abandoned by their masters...
UPDATE: The Russians have commented on the strike, saying it was NOT coordinated with them or Turkey: