DAMASCUS, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- Analysts said that the death of Islamic State (IS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi suggests that the Russian-backed Syrian army could consider a fresh military assault against the rebels who were under the shelter of the leader.
Ahead of its major defeat in northeastern Syria last year, IS enjoyed considerable sway in northern and northeastern Syria.
Its last strongholds were in eastern Syria, and no one could have imagined that the group's leader al-Baghdadi would be hiding in Idlib, a Syrian province that is largely controlled by militant groups allied with the al-Qaida, which is against IS and clashed with the group in several locations in the country.
Experts said that the presence of IS leader in Idlib ahead of his killing in a special U.S. operation before dawn on Sunday could be a motive for Russia to support a military operation in Idlib, as al-Baghdadi could not have made it and hide in Idlib without the support of the rebels there.
Rami Abdul-Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said that the door could open for a Russian-backed military operation in Idlib following the death of al-Baghdadi.
Maher Ihsan, a Syrian expert, told Xinhua that the so-called "moderate rebels" in Idlib can no longer be trusted in any future agreement after they harbored al-Baghdadi.
The Syrian army and Russia had been planning for a wide-scale military operation in Idlib in May but the operation did not continue after Turkey pledged it will push the ultra-radical rebels to respect a de-escalation zones' deal in Idlib.
Now, the situation has changed, the rebels in Idlib, which is the last major rebel stronghold in Syria, were proven to be unreliable and the al-Qaida-linked militants seem to be the strongest force in that region.
The killing of al-Baghdadi seems to be the icing on the cake, Ihsan said, noting that the Syrian army has repeatedly pledged it will regain control over all Syria areas. Now that the situation in Kurdish-controlled areas is being settled in accordance with Russian-backed understandings that will see the deployment of Syrian troops on the Syrian-Turkish border, Idlib will surely return under the spotlight.
Ahmad al-Ashqar, a Syrian journalist, also said that Idlib will return under the spotlight after the death of al-Baghdadi, noting that the Syrian army will not endure the presence of the ultra-radical al-Qaida rebels in that region for long, particularly after the understandings that have been reached between Russia, Turkey and the Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria.
"The situation in Idilb will go either toward a wide-scale offensive or maybe Turkey-backed deals with the rebels in that area to surrender themselves, but for sure it will not remain like this for long," he said.
On Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the IS leader was killed in a U.S. military operation in northwest Syria.
Speaking in the White House, Trump said U.S. Special Operations Forces conducted a raid Saturday night targeting al-Baghdadi in northwestern Syria, during which al-Baghdadi killed himself by igniting a suicide vest.
Trump said Baghdadi fled into a tunnel with three of his children and detonated a suicide vest. "He was a sick and depraved man, and now he's gone," he said.
Al-Baghdadi, 48, whose real name was Ibrahim Awad al-Badri, announced the establishment of a caliphate, or the so-called Islamic State, in June 2014.
In 2016, the U.S. Department of State offered a reward of up to 25 million U.S. dollars for information leading to his capture or death.
