This Image Does Not Show the Syrian Opposition Taking Over Kweyris Military Airbase

Misbar investigated the claim and found it to be misleading. The photo predates the current military operations by opposition rebels in Syria.

The Syrian Army Broke Through Kweyris Military Base After a Year-long Siege

Misbar’s team traced the photo through a reverse image search, revealing it to be a 2015 photo published on Getty Images, captured by photographer George Ourfalian.

According to Getty’s photo description provided by Ourfalian, the photo was captured on November 11, 2015. It depicts Syrian air forces jets at the Kweyris military airbase, in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo. The photo shows the first major breakthrough at the military airbase, which had been under a year-long jihadist siege.

On November 11, 2015, the Guardian reported that Syrian troops, backed by pro-government militia, broke through the siege of the Kweyris military airbase in northern Aleppo province.

Kweyris military airbase was under siege by the Islamic State. The siege began in the spring of 2014.

Syrian Opposition Taking Control of Kweyris

After fierce battles on the outskirts of the airbase between the regime forces and the opposition forces, the Syrian opposition factions announced their control over the Kuweires military airbase in Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria, on November 30.

The Syrian opposition also announced its control over a tank on the outskirts of Kuweires military airbase in Aleppo.

The Syrian National Army, which is a coalition of armed Syrian opposition groups, said that they captured three fighters from the Assad regime forces and "Qasd militants" on the Kweyris airbase axis.

This is the first time that opposition factions have taken control of an international airbase since the outbreak of the revolution in Syria in 2011.

Syrian Rebels Form New Coalition Military Operations Command

On Wednesday, November 27, the Syrian opposition formed a new coalition called the “Military Operations Command.” These rebels are from a broad spectrum of opposition forces, from Islamist factions to moderates, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former al Qaeda affiliate in Syria.

Under the Military Operations Command, the rebels quickly swept through villages outside Aleppo. They now control much of the city, meeting little resistance on the way, according to residents.

The fighters from the opposition say they are seeking to liberate occupied territory and were responding to stepped-up attacks from government forces and pro-Iranian militia groups.

The rebels are confronted by Russian strikes and Syrian aid forces as they advance through Aleppo and Idlib provinces. The state-run Russian Centre for the Reconciliation of the Enemy Parties in Syria said about 300 rebel fighters had been killed in missile and bomb strikes in Aleppo and Idlib provinces.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, once known as the Nusra Front, which leads the new opposition coalition, is designated a terrorist group by the U.S., Russia, Turkey, and other states.

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