HTS launches deadly attack on government forces in Northwest Syria 

IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, once known as al-Nusra Front) launched on Friday artillery and missile strikes on sites of the Syrian government forces in Aleppo and Idlib governorates, Northwest Syria, leaving several injuries. 

Military sources in Aleppo said that the HTS, under the al-Fatah al-Mubin Operations Room, launched a guided missile at a group of the government forces in the village of Basratun, west of Aleppo.

The strike resulted in the killing of four soldiers and the injury of three others.

The HTS also targeted government positions in the city of Saraqib and the village of Dadikh in the east of Idlib, as well as Regiment 46 and the town of Urum al-Kubrah, west of Aleppo, with heavy artillery and missiles, reportedly causing direct hits.

In retaliation, the government forces shelled HTS and other factions in the countryside of Idlib and Aleppo, launching dozens of artillery and rocket strikes on villages and towns in Zawiya Mountain, south of Idlib, including the villages of Maarbalit, Sfuhen, and Fatterah.

Further strikes hit HTS positions in the villages of Taqad, Kafr Amma, Kafr Ta’al, and Maklabis, as well as the outskirts of Kafr Nouran in the western countryside of Aleppo, with nearly 50 artillery and rocket shells launched from the government positions in Regiment 46 and Urum al-Kubrah.

For over a week, Northwest Syria has witnessed escalating military tensions between the warring parties, amid reports of an anticipated HTS offensive against the government forces in the countryside of Aleppo. 

By Mo’ayed al-Sheikh