HTS claims killing of 40 government soldiers, officers in NW Syria
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – On Monday, a military source operating within ranks of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front) told North Press that the HTS killed 40 soldiers and officers of the Syrian government forces in northwest Syria.
The source added that a Syrian-Russian joint operations room was targeted, resulting in the killing of a number of soldiers and officers, including an officer said to be Russian.
Russian websites publicized on Sunday the news of killing Colonel Oleg Viktorovich Pechevisty of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces while on duty in Syria.
Pechevisty arrived in Syria at the end of December 2022.
The HTS source revealed that 30 government soldiers were wounded during May in the countryside of Hama, Aleppo, Latakia, and Idlib.
The HTS, founded in 2017, controls the city of Idlib and the western countryside of Aleppo, using the Salvation Government as a political and administrative umbrella since.