IDLIB, Syria — The commander of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which controls Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, ruled out a ground attack by the Syrian government forces on Jabal al-Zawiya, in the southern Idlib countryside, although he expected an escalation of the shelling.

During a meeting with a group of media professionals in Idlib July 23, Golani said, “We have fortified Jabal al-Zawiya and the rest of the fronts. We are ready for all scenarios and are able to thwart any enemy attack. We have improved our fighting skills, especially in terms of night fighting, and we have acquired new, advanced weapons, but we will not reveal them just yet.”

He noted, “The military factions have organized their forces within a joint operations room, and this gives us additional strength. We are ready to start the battle under the right circumstances, and we have responded to the bombing of Jabal al-Zawiya by targeting the enemy's artillery positions and operations rooms.”

Golani continued, “HTS has ties with many revolutionary factions in the northern countryside of Aleppo, and we have no intention of entering those areas, which are controlled by the Free Syrian Army [FSA]. We believe the Turkish presence is a bonus but we should rely on ourselves. The decision of peace or war is ours to make. We have sent three brigades to Jabal al-Zawiya in case of any developments, but that’s unlikely at the moment.”