IDLIB, Syria — As he was about to go to bed at 10:45 p.m. local time on Oct. 26, Abu Ahmed (a pseudonym) heard helicopters hovering in the sky.
The sound was confusing, but then grew clearer. “It was not a single helicopter, but several. The sky was dark, nothing was clear up there. The sound got closer and louder. It seemed that the helicopters were very near.”