Smoke rises as a result of an airstrike in Idlib, northern Syria, 01 December 2024. According to the White Helmets, the Syrian civil group in northwestern Syria, at least eight people, including two children, were killed and 63 others injured in airstrikes carried out on residential neighborhoods in Idlib city. Syrian opposition forces led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched a large offensive on 27 November, taking large parts of Aleppo, the country's second-biggest city, triggering counterattacks by Syrian regime forces on opposition-controlled areas as well as Russian and Syrian airstrikes. EPA-EFE/MOHAMMED AL-RIFAI Dozens of Iran-aligned Iraqi Hashd al Shaabi fighters from Iraq also crossed into Syria through a military route near Al Bukamal crossing, a senior Syrian army source told Reuters.
"These are fresh reinforcements being sent to aid our comrades on the front lines in the north," the officer said, adding the militias included Iraq's Katiab Hezbollah and Fatemiyoun groups.
Iran sent thousands of Shi'ite militias to Syria during the Syrian war and, alongside Russia with its air power, enabled Syrian President Bashar Assad to crush the insurgency and regain most of his territory.
A lack of that manpower to help thwart the rebel onslaught in recent days contributed to the speedy retreat of Syrian army forces and withdrawal from Aleppo city, according to two other army sources. Militias allied to Iran, led by Hezbollah, have a strong presence in the Aleppo area.
Israel has also in recent months stepped up its strikes on Iranian bases in Syria while also waging an offensive in Lebanon which it says has weakened Hezbollah and its military capabilities.
(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Raju Gopalakrishnan)