BEIRUT: Syrian and Russian forces have launched air strikes on rebel bases in the country’s northwest, the defence ministry said on Wednesday, amid a weeklong uptick in deadly violence in the area.

Syrian forces “in cooperation with the friendly Russian forces carried out precision... air and missile strikes targeting the fortified bases of terrorist organisations” in the Idlib region, the ministry said in a statement carried by state news agency SANA.

The operation came “in response to daily and repeated attacks... on civilians” in residential areas in nearby Hama province, it added. The bases, which contained weapons, ammunition and drones, were “totally destroyed”, according to the statement.

It did not specify the date of the bombardment, but the announcement came a day after Russian air strikes killed eight fighters affiliated with jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which controls rebel-held Idlib, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Despite periodic clashes, a ceasefire deal brokered by regime ally Moscow and rebel-backer Ankara has largely held in northwest Syria since March 2020.

But the Britain-based Observatory war monitor said the Idlib region, Syria’s last opposition bastion, and nearby areas have witnessed an increase in attacks in recent days.

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2023