At least eleven members of the Syrian government troops were killed in an attack by an Islamist militia in northwestern Syria on Saturday. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 20 other soldiers were injured. The terrorist group Ansar al-Tawhid, which is close to the Al-Qaeda offshoot Haiat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), was apparently responsible for the attack.

According to the UK-based Observatory, the attack targeted a military post in the small town of Krafranbel in Idlib province. Members of Ansar al-Tawhid first detonated a bomb and then stormed the position occupied by regime troops. The Observatory said that the death toll could rise because several soldiers suffered serious injuries.

The Russian Air Force has flown several strikes on suspected positions of jihadist militias on the southern edge of Idlib in response to the Kafranbel raid, according to the Observatory, according to the Observatory.

Around three million people live in the province of Idlib. Around half of them are displaced people from other parts of the country who are dependent on humanitarian aid from the United Nations. Russia repeatedly flies airstrikes there in order to regain control of the largely jihadist-dominated province. Along with the mullahs' regime in Iran, Russia is the most important ally of the leadership in Damascus.