A Syrian official flag lies on the ground as opposition fighters stand on the tarmac of the Aleppo international airport in Aleppo, December 2. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)
CHERRY MEIGH TIMBOL
THE TIMES OF ISRAEL | Published December 3, 2024
While hundreds of members of Iran-backed militias are backing Assad’s forces, Lebanese terror group still licking its wounds after 14 months of fighting it initiated against Israel
Hundreds of Iran-backed Iraqi fighters crossed into Syria on Monday to help the government fight rebels who seized Aleppo last week, while Lebanon’s Hezbollah has no plans for now to join them, according to sources.
Iran’s constellation of allied regional militia groups, aided by Russian air power, has been integral to the success of pro-government forces in subduing rebels who rose up against President Bashar al-Assad in 2011.
Hundreds of Iran-backed Iraqi fighters crossed into Syria on Monday to help the government fight rebels who seized Aleppo last week, while Lebanon’s Hezbollah has no plans for now to join them, according to sources.
Iran’s constellation of allied regional militia groups, aided by Russian air power, has been integral to the success of pro-government forces in subduing rebels who rose up against President Bashar al-Assad in 2011.
The head of Syria’s main opposition group abroad, Hadi al-Bahra, told Reuters that the rebels were able to seize the city so quickly because Hezbollah and other Iran-backed groups were distracted by their conflict with Israel.
Preparations were made since last year for an assault on Aleppo, but it was held up by the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, he said.
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SOURCE: www.timesofisrael.com
RELATED: Iraqi fighters head to Syria to battle rebels but Lebanon’s Hezbollah stays out, sources say
REUTERS | Published December 3, 2024
AMMAN/BEIRUT, Dec 2 (Reuters) – Hundreds of Iran-backed Iraqi fighters crossed into Syria on Monday to help the government fight rebels who seized Aleppo last week, but Lebanon’s Hezbollah has no plans for now to join them, according to sources.
Iran’s constellation of allied regional militia groups, aided by Russian air power, has been integral to the success of pro-government forces in subduing rebels in Syria who rose up against President Bashar al-Assad in 2011.
But that alliance faces a new test after last week’s lightning advance by rebels in northwest Syria, with Russia focused on war in Ukraine and Hezbollah’s leadership decimated by a war with Israel that ended in a ceasefire last week.
The rebel storm of Aleppo is the biggest success of anti-Assad fighters for years. Government forces had held complete control of Aleppo since capturing what was then Syria’s largest city in a siege in 2016, one of the major turning points of a war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people.
The head of Syria’s main opposition group abroad, Hadi al-Bahra, told Reuters the rebels were able to seize the city so quickly because Hezbollah and other Iran-backed groups were distracted by their conflict with Israel.
Preparations had been made since last year for an assault on Aleppo, but it was held up by the war in Gaza, he said.
Syria’s civil war had been frozen since 2020, with Assad in control of most territory and all major cities. Rebels still held an enclave in the northwest, Turkey-backed forces held a strip along the northern border and U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led forces controlled a pocket in the northeast.
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SOURCE: www.reuters.com
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