On Tuesday morning, the Syrian Arab Air Force (SAAF) launched a multitude of airstrikes near the Kuweires Military Airport in the Aleppo Governorate, killing scores of fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS), including a Chechen field commander of the terrorist group that was identified as “Abu ‘Umar Al-Sheeshaani.”

According to a military source in Al-Safira, the Syrian Air Force conducted a total of 44 airstrikes on Tuesday; this was likely in preparation for the imminent Tiger Forces offensive that is set to begin in the coming days.

The Syrian Arab Army’s Tiger Forces arrived in the city of Al-Safira on Saturday after spending a short deployment at the Al-Sha’ar Mountains in the eastern countryside of Homs.

The Tiger Forces are tasked with the assignment to lift the brutal two-year long ISIS siege on the Kuweires Military Airport that has left almost 400 soldiers stranded at this base.

Yesterday, reports surfaced of an airstrike on the Scientific Research Facility of Al-Safira that was either conducted by the Anti-ISIS Coalition or the Turkish Air Force; this was not the case, as sources close to Al-Masdar News confirmed that this was an explosion caused by artillery shells that were fired by ISIS militants from the Jabboul Lake area.