Government-HTS mutual shelling kills, injures dozens in NW Syria
ALEPPO, Syria (North Press) – A mutual shelling between the Syrian government forces and factions affiliated with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) on Sunday killed and injured dozens, including women and children, in areas in northwestern Syria.
A military source told North Press that al-Fath al-Mubin Operations Room, a group of armed factions affiliated with HTS, in Idlib and the western countryside of Aleppo shelled various areas in the northern countryside of Aleppo with more than 60 rockets, focusing on the Shiite-majority towns of Nubl and Zahraa. That came after government forces targeted HTS positions in Aleppo and Idlib countryside.
An exclusive source from the Aleppo Health Directorate stated that hospitals in the town of Zahraa, as well as Aleppo University Hospital and al-Razi Hospital in the city of Aleppo, received more than 30 victims, including four killed.
The source told North Press that among the victims were two women: Fatoum Naif, in her fifties, from the town of Nubl, and Samira al-Soutri, in her forties. In addition, Samira’s 10-month-old infant, Hadi Muhammad al-Afraa, was also killed, along with an unidentified man.
Most of the injured people are in critical condition, resulting from injuries to the head and respiratory system, according to the source.
North Press was unable to ascertain the number of killed and injured people in areas controlled by the HTS.
Meanwhile, social media platforms affiliated with the Syrian opposition stated that government shelling in Aleppo resulted in the injury of two girls in Darat Izza, a town west of Aleppo. In Idlib Governorate, the shelling killed six people and injured 30 others in the city of Idlib and the town of Sarmin, east of Idlib.
A military source said that the government forces have detected movements of armed groups in the towns of Kafr Taal, Kafr Amma, and Darat Izza, heading towards the Kabashin area in the western countryside of Aleppo. In response, the government forces utilized both close-range and long-range artillery to counter these movements.
The source noted that anti-aircraft system repelled a drone above Base 46 in the western countryside of Aleppo.
He added that, following intense clashes lasting approximately four hours, the government artillery successfully destroyed multiple launching platforms used by armed groups affiliated with the HTS in the western countryside of Aleppo.