ALEPPO, Syria — Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), which controls Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib, held during the last week of May major combat military drills. The exercises were conducted in the various fighting fronts with the Bashar al-Assad government forces in Jabal al-Zawiya in the southern Idlib countryside, in the coastal mountains in the northern countryside of Latakia, in the eastern Idlib countryside and northwest of Aleppo.

On May 30-31, the HTS-affiliated Amjad Media Foundation published photos of HTS fighters and various military machineries that it said were on deployment in Latakia countryside, Idlib countryside, Jabal al-Zawiya, eastern Idlib countryside and western Aleppo countryside. The foundation noted that the deployment is part of military exercises aimed to raise the readiness of all HTS brigades.

Col. Mustafa Bakour, a military analyst who resides in Idlib, told Al-Monitor, “Military exercises usually aim to boost the readiness of the forces and assess their training level. They are also a show of force that aims to send warning messages to the enemy. There is no doubt that exercises have several benefits, most notably detecting weaknesses in training, equipment and qualifications. This helps to avoid shortages and address the weakness points before the start of any battle.”

On June 1, Amjad published a video recording titled “Zero Hour,” in which it highlighted part of the operations HTS conducted to raise combat readiness, military alert operations, readiness of the members of HTS’ armed formations and their participation in the maneuvers it conducted. The recording also showcased HTS’ possession of armored military vehicles, tanks and other conventional weapons.