ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Armed groups in Syria launched a major attack on Syrian army positions in western Aleppo on Wednesday morning, sparking intense fighting across multiple fronts. The clashes, involving heavy weaponry and aerial bombardments, mark one of the fiercest escalations in recent months in the contested region.

According to local reports, armed groups affiliated with Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) targeted villages and military posts in the Aleppo and Idlib countryside, prompting a strong response from the Syrian Army. The Syrian Army employed artillery and rocket strikes to repel the strike, targeting HTS positions in Darat Izza and Qubtan al-Jabal in western Aleppo countryside.

Adding to the intensity, Russian airstrikes were reported across HTS-controlled areas west of Aleppo. Russian jets conducted extensive bombing runs to weaken the armed group's offensive capabilities, according to media reports.

In a statement carried by opposition-affiliated media, the attack was referred to as part of an operation named “Deterring Aggression.” The report claimed the offensive was a response to Syrian government threats of launching a new military operation in Idlib, coupled with escalating artillery and rocket fire on the region.

The Syrian Army General Command in a statement Thursday said that the attack involved large numbers of militants equipped with medium and heavy weapons. The attack targeted “safe villages and towns” as well as military positions, according to the statement.

The army claimed to have inflicted heavy casualties on the attackers in both personnel and equipment, adding that they continue to confront the armed groups “using various firepower, in coordination with allied forces.”

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based war monitor, said that at least 153 were killed in the clashes: 80 HTS militants, 54 Syrian army soldiers, and 19 members of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army.

Turkish security sources told Reuters on Thursday that the opposition's operation falls within the boundaries of the de-escalation zone in Idlib, established in a 2019 agreement between Turkey, Russia, and Iran. They added that the limited operation by opposition groups expanded after Syrian government forces vacated some of their positions in the region.

The sources noted that the escalation follows recent Syrian government attacks on the de-escalation zone, which opposition groups framed as a provocation.