Sources affiliated with the Syrian opposition's so-called National Army, formerly known as the Free Syrian Army (FSA), told Al-Monitor that Russian jets launched several air raids on Sept. 26. The raids hit a military base of Al-Hamza Division, a group affiliated with the National Army, in the village of Barad in Afrin in the northern countryside of Aleppo.

Six members of the National Army were killed and 11 others were wounded. Most of those who were killed hail from the eastern Ghouta area on the outskirts of Damascus.

The sources confirmed that Russian reconnaissance planes had intensified their sorties before the bombing. Also, a day before the bombing, Russian warplanes carried out several raids on different areas of Afrin. They shelled the area surrounding Balshaya and the area between it and Jalbal in the Afrin countryside. This is in addition to an air raid targeting the neighboring town of Basoufan. All of these areas are under the control of the Turkish-allied National Army factions.

The Russian raids were not limited to the National Army areas in the countryside of Afrin but extended to hit large areas of Idlib controlled by HTS. It is noted that Russian warplanes launch on a daily basis dozens of raids on large areas of Idlib.