On Friday, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its allies from the Free Syrian Army (FSA) launched a new attack against the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in the northern Hama countryside. HTS captured Musheirifa Qubliah and Umm Turaykiyah villages at the beginning of its attack.
Furthermore, HTS besieged the local National Defense Forces (NDF) in Abu Dali village north of Musheirifa Qubliah village. Syrian opposition sources reported that HTS carried out VBIEDs attacks against positions of the SAA during its current offensive.
HTS shells SAA positions:
Click to see the full-size image
Click to see the full-size image
However, Syrian pro-government forces confirmed that the SAA and NDF recaptured Umm Turaykiyah villages. Abu Dali village is still under the control of the local NDF that recaptured all the lost points around the village.
Meanwhile, the HTS-linked news agency Iba’a reported that Russian warplanes conducted airstrikes on Khan Shaykhun town and al Hilba village in the southern Idlib countryside.
Alleged photos of the airstrikes impact:
Click to see the full-size image
Click to see the full-size image
Opposition sources reported previously that many reconciliation negotiations between the Syrian Government and FSA groups took place in Abu Dali village. This maybe the reason why HTS decided to attack the village as a part of its effort to sabotage any peaceful agreements.
The SAA will likely break the HTS siege on Abu Dali village within hours. However, the HTS attack will likely continue. HTS may even open new fronts in Aleppo or even Daraa governorate to make up for its fail.
