“The destruction of the Jabhat al-Nusra command by Russia’s Aerospace Forces and, according to the available information, the fact that its leader, Abu Muhammad al-Julani, sank into a coma, caused confusion among terrorists throughout the Idlib province," the ministry said, according to Russia’s TASS News Agency.
The statement added that in the course of 24 hours their Sukhoi Su-34 warplanes “wiped out 49 militants of the Jabhat al-Nusra group, including seven leaders of militant units of the terrorist organization’s eastern sector.”
It added the aerial operation was in response to an attack by the group on a “Russian military police observation post on the border of the Idlib de-escalation zone on September 18.”
The operation was based on intelligence of an “emergency meeting” of the group’s commanders in Idlib.
The Russian Aerospace Forces have liquidated Jabhat al-Nusra’s largest underground arsenal in Syria where more than 1,000 tonnes of ammunition was stored, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.
The al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front changed its name to Fatah al-Sham Front in 2016 and claimed it was cutting ties with al Qaeda in a move many believe was an attempt to market itself as legitimate member of the Syrian opposition.
