Al Nusrah Front and allies launch new offensive in Syria’s Aleppo province

The Jaysh al Fateh (“Army of Conquest”) coalition, which was cofounded by Al Nusrah Front and its closest allies, has launched a new offensive in the southern part of Syria’s Aleppo province. The assault began sometime during the past two days when two suicide bombers detonated a large amount of explosives on positions controlled by Bashar al Assad’s regime and its Iranian-backed paramilitary allies.

Al Nusrah, which is al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, has already released several videos of the fighting. A few of the videos were recorded using small drones, which captured the dramatic scenes from overhead. Al Nusrah claims that two of its “martyrs” killed more than 100 Shiite fighters in twin bombings. (Screen shots from the videos, along with other propaganda from the battle, can be seen below.)

Jaysh al Fateh seeks to expand its grip on the territory surrounding the town of Khan Tuman, which is located south of the city of Aleppo.

The jihadist coalition seized Khan Tuman last month. Al Nusrah and other member groups in Jaysh al Fateh say their fighters have targeted the neighboring towns and villages, including Humayrah, Khalsah, Qal’ajiyah, and Qarassi, all of which are south of Khan Tuman. In addition, jihadi accounts on social media report heavy fighting in Maratah, which is to Khan Tuman’s east. The jihadists have specifically targeted fuel and weapons storage locations.

These locales can all be seen on the map reproduced above, which was first posted on Ajnad al Sham’s official Twitter feed. Ajnad al Sham is one of several groups that have joined Al Nusrah in the Jaysh al Fateh alliance.

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Image screen shot from Jaysh al Fateh video