MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th October, 2019) The number of insurgents, affiliated with al-Qaeda terrorist organization (banned in Russia) and actively present in the Syrian province of Idlib, might total up to 36,000 people, the deputy secretary of the Russian Security Council, Yury Kokov, said on Sunday.
The larger part of Idlib is currently controlled by the terrorist groups of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly known as the Nusra Front, banned in Russia) and the Hurras al-Din (banned in Russia), both affiliated with al-Qaeda, Kokov said in an interview with the Rossiyskaya Gazeta daily.
"Experts estimate their potential to be up to 36,000 insurgents, which enables the groups to actively resist the Syrian government forces," Kokov said, adding that "in the first half of September alone, they have carried out over 300 airstrikes against the government forces which left more than 150 servicemen killed."
The conflict in Syria has been ongoing since 2011 between President Bashar Assad's government and various opposition groups and terrorist organizations. The Syrian government has regained control over most of the territories that were seized by terrorists in late 2017, however counterterrorist operations still continue in a number of areas. Idlib, in particular, still remains a terrorist stronghold.
