Russia Reports Successful Strikes on 'Jabhat al-Nusra' Targets in Syria's Idlib Province

Russia’s defense ministry released video on September 22 showing what it said were strikes launched against positions held by Jabhat al-Nusra, formerly affiliated with al-Qaeda, in Syria’s Idlib province.

The video shows the launch from a submarine of missiles in strikes Russia said targeted al-Nusra training bases and armored vehicles that were “involved in attempt to seize 29 Russian Military Police servicemen in the north of Hama province”. All targets were hit, the ministry said.

Storyful was able to verify the location of one of the targets in Idlib. The building at 0:34 matches the same one in Wikimapia.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that missiles hit Kafr Sajna, Hass, Deir Sharqi, and Jabal al-Zawia in Idlib province. A baby boy was burned due to the strikes on Kafr Sajna near Khan Shaykhun, the Observatory reported.

Storyful cannot confirm from the video if the missiles seen being launched are the ones seen hitting the targets later in the footage.

Tahrir al-Sham, formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra, launched a major offensive against Syrian government forces on September 19. Credit: Russian Ministry of Defense via Storyful