Two HTS militants killed in shelling with government forces in Idlib

By Hani Salem

IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – Two militants of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front) were killed and another was wounded on Friday due to mutual shelling with Syrian government forces in northwest Syria.

An exclusive source told North Press that two HTS militants were killed as a result of targeting their vehicle in the town of al-Bara in Idlib Governorate by the government forces.

The source said a civilian was wounded during a shelling by the government forces on the positions of the HTS and the Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, known as the Syrian National Army (SNA), in the village of Kherbet al-Naqous, west of Hama Governorate.

Also, the government forces shelled the SNA positions in the town of al-Nayrab and Sarmin, east of Idlib. However, another shelling targeted the factions’ position in the village of Kafr Noran and al-Atareb, west of Aleppo, according to the source.

The source pointed out that the HTS responded to the shelling on the government forces’ positions in Regiment 46 and Urum al-Kubra in the west of Aleppo, Kafr Nabel in the south of Idlib, and Saraqib in the east.

The HTS, rebranded in 2017, controls the city of Idlib and western Aleppo Governorate, under the guise of the Salvation Government.

Although the de-escalation zone in northwest Syria is subject to a Russian-Turkish ceasefire agreement signed in March 2020, the area witnesses frequent mutual bombardment despite the entry of the ceasefire into force.

In March 2020, Russia and Turkey reached an agreement in Moscow that stipulated a ceasefire, the establishment of a safe corridor, and the conduct of joint patrols on the M4/Aleppo-Latakia Highway.