Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) news network, iba’a, announced on May 2 that the terrorist group had launched a barrage of 35 rockets at the Russian Hmeimim airbase on the Syrian coast.
The terrorist group said the rocket attack was a response to the continued airstrikes by the Russian Aerospace Forces and the Syrian Arab Air Force (SyAAF) on the opposition-held areas in Idlib and its surroundings.
The terrorist group’s rockets didn’t reach Hmeimim as they landed inside the town of Bakhdarmou, few kilometers east of the airbase. At least one civilian was killed and four others were injured.
According to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) responded to the attack by destroying a rocket launcher of HTS inside the demilitarized zone around Idlib. Russian warplanes also carried out airstrikes on the terrorist group’s positions in southern Idlib and northern Hama.
Earlier, the Russian military announced that it had repelled 12 attacks with rockets and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on the Hmeimim airbase last month. The army confirmed that no material damage or casualties were caused.
This new attack on the Hmeimim airbase will likely further escalate the situation around Idlib, where the SAA is preparing to launch a large-scale military operation, according to pro-government sources.
Source: www.southfront.org