Syrian Air Force Rules the Skies Above Aleppo; Nusra Offensive Stalls

The Syrian Arab Air Force (SAAF) has provided much needed assistance to the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and their allies in the Aleppo Governorate, launching numerous airstrikes near the Turkish border in order to obstruct the militants from resupplying and reinforcing themselves.

On Wednesday, the SAAF showed very little mercy to the enemy combatants from the Syrian Al-Qaeda group “Jabhat Al-Nusra” and Jabhat Al-Shamiyah (Levantine Front), as they bombarded the northern Aleppo city of ‘Azaz with a multitude of airstrikes; this comes one day after the SAAF destroyed a large rebel convoy entering Syria from Turkey.

Perhaps the most important target of the SAAF’s bombing campaign in Aleppo is the Hareetan Highway that provides the rebel forces an imperative supply route to their entrenched fighters in the provincial capital.

The numerous SAAF airstrikes that have rocked the militant groups on the Hareetan Highway have paid dividends to the SAA combatting Islamist groups inside the provincial capital of Aleppo; this was especially true during Jabhat Al-Nusra’s recent offensive into the city.

Jabhat Al-Nusra has besieged a multitude of neighborhoods inside the city of Aleppo for the last seven days; however, the tide turned after their failed attempt to capture the Air Force Intelligence building in the Al-Zahra Association Quarter.

As a result of their failed mission to seize the Al-Zahra Quarter, the SAA and National Defense Forces (NDF) were able to reinforce the area and drive back the militants towards the Layramoun District.

Meanwhile, in the Old Aleppo Quarter, the militants from Jabhat Al-Nusra and Jabhat Al-Shamiyah were unable to progress any further towards the Aleppo Citadel after the SAA and NDF secured the main road leading to the historical street.

With the recapture of Al-Manasheer in the north and Mount Azzan in the south, the SAA was able to forestall the militant offensive and retake lost territory in the process.

Jabhat Al-Nusra and their allies from Harakat ‘Ahrar Al-Sham and Jaysh Al-Mujahiddeen have repeatedly attempted to break into the villages of Duwayr Zeitoun and Bashkoy; however, they have been unsuccessful each time – this area will likely be their focal point over the coming weeks.