HTS-government clashes in NW Syria leave causalities
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – Military clashes intensified on Sunday between Syrian government forces and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, once known as al-Nusra Front) in Northwest and central Syria resulting in multiple casualties.
North Press correspondent cited military sources as saying that the Syrian government forces launched artillery and rocket strikes on several towns and villages in the western countryside of Aleppo, including Taqad, Kafr Taal, Kafr Amma, Maklabis, al-Abzimo, al-Wasata, and the outskirts of Darat Izza.
In Idlib Governorate, the government forces shelled sites in Kansafra, Fatterah, Benin, Maarbalit, and al-Bara, located in the Zawiya Mountain area, south of the city of Idlib.
The shelling on the village of Benin resulted in the killing of two HTS militants and the injury of two others, the sources said.
In response, HTS militants retaliated with artillery fire, striking government positions in the town of Shathah and the village of Rasif in the northwestern countryside of Hama, as well as Kafr Nabl, al-Malaja, Hazarin, and Basqala in the southern countryside of Idlib. They also targeted the government’s Brigade 46, west of Aleppo.
The retaliatory attack led to the killing of five soldiers from the Brigade 46, all of whom were members of the elite Fourth Armory Division, according to the sources.