Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) repelled a Syrian Arab Army (SAA) attempt to advance from the Mahardeh direction towards the town of Halfaya.
The SAA began the operation yesterday with a strong artillery fire on Halfaya in order to capture it. The Fifth Storming Corps and the National Defense Forces participated in the attack mainly. However, all attempts to capture the town have failed.
Furthermore, militants from HTS have targeted SAA positions with 130 mm artillery pieces. They also claimed that they had managed to seize a T-62m tank and a UAZ vehicle from the SAA.
Click to see the full-size map
Click to see the full-size map
US-backed Jaish al-Izza has destroyed a bulldozer belonging to the SAA around the town of Khattab with a Fagot ATGM missile.
Separately, HTS continued shelling of Mahardeh and Qamhana with mortar without causing any injuries.
The Syrian and Russian air forces targeted HTS and Jaish al-Izza gatherings and headquarters in Helfaya, Souran and Taybat al-Imam, allegedly causing casualties to militant group.
The SAA will likely continue its attempts to capture both Halfaya and Suran. However, a lack of the progress does not allow to suggest that government forces will be able to develop the advance successfully in the direction of Murek and Khan Sheikhoun without deploying additional reinforcements.
