On February 6, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda), the Turkistan Islamic Party and other militant groups continued their advance on positions of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) west and northwest of the government-held city of Abu al-Duhur in the province of Idlib.
According to pro-militant sources, the forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) entered Tell Kalbah, Tuwayl al-Halib and Dhahabiyah where fierce clashes erupted. Fighting also continued in Tell Sultan, Ras al-Ayn and Baris partly seized by the militants on February 5.
HTS and its allies used the ongoing SAA operation against ISIS in the northestern Hama pocket to launch an attack on Abu al-Duhur. This forced the SAA to fight on two fronts simultaneously.
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