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Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its allies launched a counter-attack in the northern countryside of Hama on April 4.
HTS-led forces attacked the town of Maardes that government forces had liberated earlier this week.
Militants reached the outskirts of the town and engaged government forces in an intense firefight in the area. Some pro-militnat sources even reported that militants had entered Maardes and even seized it, but these were not confirmed (at 12:01 CET).
The militant counter-offensive followed reports that HTS-led forces had received fresh reinforcements from the militant-held area of Idlib.
