Syrian Islamist rebels targeted by Russia and Syria following surprise incursion.

In the northwest of the war-torn Syrian Arab Republic, a radical Islamist group launched its largest military attack against Syrian regime forces since 2020, prompting Russian and Syrian warplanes to bomb the insurgent offensive on Thursday.

In northwest Aleppo province, controlled by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces, a dozen towns and villages were attacked by rebels led by the U.S-designated Islamist terrorist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

On the same day that Assad's ally, Hezbollah, reached a ceasefire agreement with Israel to end over 14 months of warfare, the Syrian Islamist offensive began.

The conflict in Syria features a diverse group of U.S.-designated state-sponsored terrorism groups, including Assad's regime and Iran, battling against a Turkey-backed Islamist terrorist organization. Meanwhile, Russia has been accused of committing war crimes during its invasion of Ukraine.

Rebekah Koffler, a former U.S. defense intel officer and an expert on Putin, stated on Planet Chronicle Digital that the current situation in Syria on Thanksgiving Day is a classic example of Putin's playbook. She explained that Russia is engaging in lateral escalation in response to Biden's decision to authorize Zelensky to use U.S. ATACMs to strike deep into Russia. Koffler noted that Russia and the United States are on opposite sides of the war in Syria, and Putin is countering U.S. interests by increasing support for Assad, which goes against U.S. policy.

Putin is exerting pressure on Biden to withdraw authorization from Zelensky to use ATACMs against Russia. The doctrine is "escalate to de-escalate." After the recent strike of hypersonic missile Oreshnik on Ukraine, Putin has climbed several rungs on the escalation ladder. Additionally, with Russian air forces joining Syrian airfare bombing rebel-held northwestern Syria, he is moving laterally on the escalation ladder, to out escalate the United States, unbalance Biden, and create as much negotiating leverage on Ukraine for himself before President Trump begins his second term. It is possible that Assad will strike rebel-held territories with chemical weapons again.

According to Alex Grinberg, an Israeli expert on Russia, Assad's army cannot defeat Hayat Tahrir al-Sham without Russian air support.

He said this is "usually what the Russians do" in Syria.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Kioumars Pourhashemi was reportedly killed in Aleppo while serving as a senior military adviser in Syria, according to state media controlled by the Iranian regime.

The Islamist rebels launched a campaign in response to recent Russian and Syrian air force strikes on civilians in southern Idlib and to prevent any attacks by the Syrian army, which they claimed was amassing troops near rebel front lines.

Over 500,000 people have been killed as a result of Assad's conflict with his population, which began in 2011 when Syrians demanded democracy.

Thousands of fighters from Iran, including members of the Guards and Shi'ite militiamen from across the region, have been sent to Syria during the Syrian war.

On Thursday, Turkish security sources stated that the rebels began with a limited operation following Syrian government attacks, and later expanded it after the government forces withdrew their positions.

Reuters contributed to this report.