Syria War 2015 - Idlib Offensive: Heavy Clashes During The Battle For Jisr al-Shughur. Syrian rebels contiuned their push against government troops in the Idlib and Hama region after they captured the strategic town of Idlib a few weeks ago. Their new offensive aimed to capture the city of Jisr al-Shughur in the Idlib governorote. The fighting for the town was part of the so called "Battle of Victory" that took place in the Idlib and Hama Governorates. In order of the fighting Jisr al-Shughur was captured by the rebels. The success of the battle has been attributed to better coordination between the Syrian opposition's backers.
The offensive on Jisr al-Shughur was launched to cut off the government access to a major highway linking Idlib to Latakia. Several smaller towns in the vicinity where also captured by rebels in order of the battle.
The Jisr al-Shughur offensive has been described as one of the "largest and most ambitious operations of the Syrian civil war" consisting of some 40 opposition groups, with the main goal being to outflank and interdict government troops who were sent to attempt to push back against the 2015 Idlib offensive, which followed the opposition victory at the Second Battle of Idlib.
Free Syrian Army brigades were tasked with spearheading the cutting of Syrian Arab Army supply lines from the west, as well as carrying out secondary attacks against SAA positions across Idlib.
Opposition forces were widely reported to be planning to move on the government's stronghold of Latakia following the capture of Jisr al-Shughur.
After recent rebel victories against the Syrian government, some people began to fear a scenario where (hardline) rebels would swarm Damascus in the near future, despite government reassurances.
The offensive was a joint operation of Free Syrian Army brigades and also hardline rebel groups under the banner of the Army of Conquest on the one side and the Syrian army supported by Hezbollah and the NDF on the other side.
The footage shows mostly fighting from the rebel perspective but however a small amount of SAA footage is also featured in this video.