HTS shelling kills Syrian soldier in Idlib – Russian Reconciliation Center
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – A soldier of Syrian government forces was killed in attacks by militants of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front) in de-escalation zone in Idlib, northwest Syria, Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria announced on Sunday night.
Deputy Head of the Russian Coordination Center in Syria, Oleg Egorov, said, “Militants of al-Nusra Front conducted three attacks on the de-escalation zone in Idlib with shells, killing a Syrian soldier.”
Egorov added that in the past 24 hours, “three attacks with AGS-17 were recorded in the de-escalation zone in Idlib from positions of the terrorist al-Nusra Front. Two shells targeted Aleppo governorate and one targeted Hama governorate.”
The Russian Reconciliation Center announced in a statement on September 18, Russian forces targeted a stronghold of HTS, in Idlib Governorate, killing 45 militants including field leaders have been eliminated.
“The Russian Air Force launched an airstrike on al-Nusra Front base in the vicinity of the village of Sheikh Youssef in Idlib,” the statement noted.
The field leaders who were killed are Bilal Sa’id and Abu Dajjana al-Deiri, in addition to destroying numbers of weapons depots.
De-escalation zone in northwestern Syria continues to witness daily exchange of bombardment between Syrian government forces and opposition factions despite being part of the ceasefire agreement signed between Russia and Turkey in March 2020, which stipulates a halt of military action in Idlib.