TEHRAN (Iran News) Fierce clashes between the Syrian Armed Forces and Al-Nusra Front militants continued in the countryside of Aleppo and Idlib, resulting in heavy losses for the militant groups, the Syrian Army announced in a statement on Wednesday.

According to Syrian state sources, the fighting intensified early Wednesday morning, with military units responding to a large-scale attack by Al-Nusra terrorists and allied factions targeting civilian villages and military positions in clear violation of de-escalation agreements.

The Syrian Army’s General Command said its forces, supported by allied troops, successfully repelled the offensive and inflicted significant casualties on the attackers, both in personnel and equipment. The statement emphasized ongoing efforts to restore stability and normalcy to the affected areas.

Prior to the offensive, Al-Nusra and its allies launched heavy artillery and rocket strikes on villages near the frontlines, reported Sputnik.

The militant groups then carried out a coordinated ground assault, which was met with intense resistance from the Syrian military.

Al-Watan newspaper highlighted the intensity of the clashes, noting the Syrian Army’s success in targeting Al-Nusra’s supply lines and strongholds with artillery and precision-guided missiles. The strikes reportedly dismantled key militant fortifications and caused substantial losses.

Military sources in western Aleppo confirmed to Al-Watan that Syrian forces targeted key logistical hubs of Al-Nusra in towns including Takad, Al-Abzamo, Kafr Amma, Kafr Ta’al, and Tadil. Heavy rocket and artillery barrages struck militant positions near Atarib and Darat Izza, resulting in casualties and severe damage to their infrastructure.

Simultaneously, Syrian and Russian air forces conducted joint operations, destroying multiple militant positions and supply routes in western Aleppo. “The strikes have significantly weakened their operational capacity,” sources stated.

Militants were reported to have turned several villages and towns near the frontlines into fortified military bases, closing the Idlib corridor to southwestern Afrin, according to military observers. Meanwhile, Syrian artillery targeted militant concentrations east of Idlib, as the army escalated its campaign with coordinated air and ground assaults on Al-Nusra positions in Hama and Idlib.

Clashes were ongoing late Wednesday, with sources describing the battlefield as highly volatile. Observers noted that the return of intense fighting in Aleppo and Idlib signaled the collapse of earlier de-escalation efforts. “The era of reduced tensions has ended,” one source commented, adding that the militants had suffered significant setbacks in the renewed hostilities.

Russia’s Aerospace Forces have critically wounded HTS leader and former Al Nusra Front ’emir’ Abu Mohammad al-Julani in Syria, and killed 12 field commanders of the terrorist group which controls Idlib Governorate.

“As a result of the strike, Jabhat al-Nusra leader Abu Mohammad al-Julani received multiple heavy fragmentation wounds and, having lost his hand, is in critical condition, according to several independent sources,” Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Wednesday, Sputnik reported.

“Along with numerous (about 50) security guards, 12 field commanders of Jabhat al-Nusra, including the closest aide of Julani, were also killed,” he added.

The al-Nusra Front changed its name and merged with other Syrian terrorist groups to create Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS); however, the Russian Defense Ministry continues to use the group’s original name.

Russia, along with Iran and local forces, has been assisting the Syrian government in its fight against the terrorist groups wreaking havoc in the Arab country since 2011.

Moscow has been conducting an anti-terrorist operation in Syria since September 30, 2015, at the behest of Syrian President Bashar Assad.