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On February 4, al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched yet another attack from the northwestern Syrian region of Greater Idlib.
The terrorist group’s militants raided a position of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) on al-Burkan Hill in the morning, taking advantage of a heavy snowstorm that pinned down the position’s personnel and limited visibility. HTS alleged that ten troops were killed and several others were wounded in the raid.
From its side, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that four HTS militants and seven soldiers of the SAA were killed. These claims are yet to be verified.
The SAA responded to the attack, which constitutes a violation of the ceasefire in Greater Idlib, by shelling HTS positions around the key town of Kabani in the northern Lattakia countryside.
The raid on al-Burkan Hill was the most recent in a series of attacks by HTS targeting the SAA and its allies around Greater Idlib. The attacks, which included a number of rocket and drone strikes, began in December as Russian efforts to restore ties between Ankara, who maintains a large force in Greater Idlib, and Damascus, began to gain momentum.
During January, the terrorist group carried out four similar raids in the northern Lattakia countryside, the southern Idlib countryside and the western countryside of Aleppo.
The recent attacks were a part of HTS’s ongoing efforts to stir up tensions in Greater Idlib and nearby regions. The terrorist group has been also making attempts to expand its influence into Turkish-occupied areas in the northern Aleppo countryside.
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