Kuweires offensive

The origins of the planning of operations in the Aleppo area could be traced back to Gen. Qasem Soleimani's visit to Moscow in July 2015. Gen. Soleimani was reportedly sent to Syria by the supreme leader of Iran himself, Ali Khamenei, in order to discuss military matters with his Russian counterparts and coordinate a joint escalation of forces in Syria. Military advisers, including high ranking generals from Iran's Quds force began deploying to Latakia, and soon moving to the points of engagement throughout the country in order to plan the coming ground offensives which would be augmented by Russian air-power. With so many Iranian generals patrolling and reconnoitering the front-lines of the Syrian civil war, three of the aforementioned were soon killed in action including a very senior Guards member, Gen. Hossein Hamadani, who was deputy to Qasem Soleimani. == The offensive ==

Beginning on 15 September, the government forces launched attacks along the north-western rim of the al-Jaboul Lake in an attempt to drive the ISIL militants back towards the besieged air-base of Kuweires in eastern Aleppo. The offensive began with the Army and National Defense Forces taking control of the two hilltops at Tal Na'am and Tal Sab'in, which are located just north of Lake Jabboul. Before dawn of 24 September 2015, the Russian Naval Infantry went into battle for the first time since their deployment to Syria, Debka file's military and intelligence sources reveal. The 810th Naval Infantry Brigade fought with Syrian Army and Hezbollah special forces in an attack on ISIL forces at the Kweiris air base, east of Aleppo. By the next day, government forces took more areas, bringing the total of captured villages since the start of the offensive to five. On 19 October, government forces captured the village of Bkayze, about seven kilometres from the air base, as well as two other villages near the base. They also captured parts of Dakwanah. The following day, the military seized parts of the Tal Sbi'ein area. On 21 October, government forces took control of the Tal Sbi'ein area, including its hill, and two days later Dakwanah as well, bringing them to within four kilometers of the air base. On 9 November, government forces captured the town of Sheikh Ahmad, two kilometers from the air base, setting the conditions for a final assault towards the airport. On 10 November, government forces lifted the siege of the Kuweires air base after three years. Subsequently, the Army captured the villages of Rasm 'Abboud and 'Umm Arkileh near the airport, as a mass ISIL retreat from areas east of Aleppo. In the last 24 hours of the fighting around the military airport, 60 ISIL militants, more than 20 Syrian soldiers, 13 Iranian and 8 Hezbollah fighters were killed. On 13 November, government forces advanced 4.5 km along the Aleppo-Raqqa Highway, seizing the chemical production facility and positioned themselves at the Sisako Factory. On 16 November, the air base was officially declared secured after the Army seized the village of Kaskays. This marked the beginning of a new military offensive with the aim of expanding the buffer zone around the airport. == See also ==