Al Qaeda fighters on the offensive against army

BEIRUT — Insurgents led by an al Qaeda-linked group launched one of their widest offensives yet Tuesday against Syrian pro-government forces, which responded with heavy air strikes targeting hospitals and first responders.

Pro-government media said the air strikes targeted insurgent supply lines from the northwestern Idlib province, a stronghold of the al Qaedalinked group.

Opposition activists and rescue workers said at least two civilians were killed. They said two hospitals, and two centers used by volunteer first responders known as the White Helmets, were rendered non-operational.

The offensive tests a newly announced “de-escalation zone” in Idlib, the latest of four such areas declared by Russia and Iran, which support the Syrian government, and Turkey, which backs the rebels. Fighting has largely subsided in the other three zones, near Damascus, in the central Homs province and in southern Syria.

The “de-escalation zones” have freed up Syrian troops and allied militias to battle the Islamic State in the eastern Deir el-Zour province and other areas.

The Syrian governmentaffiliated Central Military Media outlet acknowledged the insurgent offensive just south of Idlib and said forces responded with intensive air strikes and shelling, killing a number of insurgents.

Rami Abdurrahman, the head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said air strikes pummeled the front line but also targeted southern Idlib, hitting at least four medical centers.

The opposition-run Qasioun News Agency said two hospitals were knocked out of service because of the strikes. The White Helmets, also known as the Syrian Civil Defense,counted at least 40 air strikes in the area since early Tuesday.

Abdurrahman said the offensive is the widest so far targeting the government-held city of Hama. He said thousands of fighters, led by the al Qaedalinked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and its allies, including Chinese fighters of the Turkistan Islamic Party, took part in the offensive. He said the Alezzah Army, a rebel group formerly backed by the United States, was fighting alongside the other insurgents. Sarah El Deeb is an Associated Press writer.