On Monday, rebel forces fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad captured the Aleppo International Airport, and began their assault against the city of Hama in the western part of the country.
The rebel militant group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), first began in 2011, and has had many name changes, schisms, and leadership changes since then. Their victory this weekend also surprised, particularly in taking Aleppo.
“We succeeded in breaking the first line and then the second and third,” said Gen. Ahmed Homsi, an HTS commander, in an interview with NPR. “We hit positions of the leadership and succeeded in cutting off communications between them and their troops. That created big chaos for them. It was a big psychological defeat.”
