President Trump tweeted on Sunday, “Hearing word that Russia, Syria and, to a lesser extent, Iran, are bombing the hell out of Idlib Province in Syria, and indiscriminately killing many innocent civilians. The World is watching this butchery. What is the purpose, what will it get you? STOP!”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked about Trump’s comments on Monday and said there was a “high concentration of terrorists and militants,” and that militants were using Idlib to launch attacks against civilians, “Of course strikes by militants from Idlib are unacceptable and measures are being taken to neutralize these strike positions.”
Back in 2017, Brett McGurk, UN envoy to the coalition fighting the Islamic State in Syria said, “Idlib province is the largest al-Qaeda safe haven since 9/11.” The UN has estimated that Idlib Province is home to around 10,000 al-Nusra and al-Qaeda fighters.