3 HTS militants killed in government shelling in Syria’s Idlib
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – Three militants of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front) were killed on Friday and another was injured in a missile attack by the Syrian government forces in Idlib Governorate in northwest Syria.
The government forces stationed in the village of al-Bara, south of Idlib, fired a missile at a military vehicle of the HTS killing three militants and injuring one, North Press correspondent cited a military source of the HTS as saying.
The source said the killed and the injured were transferred to a medical center in the town of Ihsim, south of Idlib. They later transferred to Idlib National Hospital.
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.
This is the third attack of its kind by the government forces against the HTS within a month.
The HTS, rebranded in 2017, controls the city of Idlib and western Aleppo Governorate, under the guise of the Salvation Government.