15 Syrian Soldiers Allegedly Killed In New Attack Near Greater Idlib (Photos)

Late on March 16, al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched an attack from the northwestern Syrian region of Greater Idlib against the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in yet another violation of a ceasefire agreement that was brokered by Russia and Turkey more than two years ago.

The attack targeted several positions of the SAA in the outskirts of the town of al-Fatatra in the southern countryside of Idlib.

HTS claimed that its militants blew up two fortified posts and killed 15 soldiers before retreating without sustaining any losses. However, Syrian pro-government news sources said that the attack was repelled by the SAA. The sources didn’t report any casualties.

The terrorist group escalated its attacks against the SAA in December in an apparent attempt to sabotage Russian efforts to restore ties between Ankara, who maintains a large force in Greater Idlib, and Damascus.

Last month, the terrorist group attacked two key positions of the SAA in the northern Lattakia countryside and a third in the western countryside of Aleppo.

HTS views Turkish military presence in Greater Idlib as an obstacle in the face of any new ground operation by the SAA and its allies. The group fears that Ankara could withdraw forces from the region to facilitate the normalization process with Damascus.

President Bashar al-Assad stressed during his recent visit to Russia that a Turkish withdrawal is one of Syria’s main demands. Even a partial withdrawal from Greater could pave the way for the SAA and its allies to neutralize HTS and other terrorist groups there.

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