Russia targets M5 in Maarat al-Numan, Syrian Army besieges a Turkish observation post

North-Press Agency

The Russian and Syrian government fighter jets bombed the M5 highway near the city of Maarat al-Numan in the southern countryside of Idlib, while battle fronts near Aleppo-Damascus highway (M5) have witnessed a withdrawal of the armed opposition groups from several areas, in addition to the Syrian government forces imposing a siege on the third Turkish observation post in the area.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has reported bombings on the Damascus-Aleppo M5 highway by the Russian and Syrian warplanes, where two Russian warplanes bombed the town of Tal-Minis and the M5Highway in the area between the towns of Babila and Khan al-Sabil with light bombs fired at the city of Maarat al-Numan.

A ground bombardment between the Syrian government forces on the one hand, and the armed opposition groups and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, al-Nusra Front ) on the other, has permeated aerial  bombing. The armed opposition groups withdrew from the areas of Kafr Basin, Babolin, Sahyan and Maar Hatat, on the M5 highway, and no information was mentioned about the Syrian government forces' control over these areas from which the armed groups have withdrawn.

Moreover, the Syrian Observatory stressed that the Turkish observation post in the town of “Maar Hatat” has become within the areas of control of the Syrian government forces. Thus, this post becomes the third one within the control areas of the Syrian government forces, after al-Sorman post in Idlib’s eastern countryside and Morek post in Hama’s northern countryside.