A patch of Ansar al-Tawhid, illustrative image.
On May 8, al-Qaeda-affiliated Ansar al-Tawhid targeted an anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) launcher of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in the town of Maarrat Mukhs in the southern Idlib countryside.
Ansar al-Tawhid terrorists targeted the ATGM launcher with an improvised cannon known as “Ansar-1”. The cannon is a Soviet-made U-5TS 115 mm smoothbore tank gun, likely taken from a damaged T-62 battle tank, mounted on the back of a 6×6 truck.
Photos released by the terrorist group show a direct impact on a water tank near Maarrat Mukhs. No ATGM launcher is visible in the photos.
Click to see full-size image.
Click to see full-size image.
In the last few days, the SAA’s ATGM units inflicted heavy losses on al-Qaeda militants in different parts of the Greater Idlib region.
A day earlier, the SAA destroyed two pickups near the town of al-Atarib in the western Aleppo countryside with ATGMs. A gathering of militants near the town of Basartun in the same region was also targeted.
عاجل : قوات النظام تستهدف بصاروخ “م.د” سيارة مدنية على الأطراف الجنوبية الشرقية لمدينة #الأتارب غربي حلب، دون وقوع إصابات، في استهداف هو الثالث من نوعه خلال 24 ساعة.#مكتب_الأتارب_الإعلامي pic.twitter.com/c8157BTgaj
— مكتب الأتارب الإعلامي (@alatareb2018) May 7, 2021
عاجل : استشهاد مدني وإصابة آخرين إثر استهداف قوات النظام بصاروخ “م.د” سيارة مدنية على الأطراف الجنوبية لمدينة #الأتارب، في حادثة هي الرابعة خلال ساعات.#مكتب_الأتارب_الإعلامي pic.twitter.com/pjRD4jUhqJ
— مكتب الأتارب الإعلامي (@alatareb2018) May 7, 2021
According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, three militants of al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) were killed and two others were injured as a result of the ATGM strikes.
The SAA’s extensive use of ATGMs is a response to the militants’ repeated violations of the ceasefire in Greater Idlib. A recent raid by HTS killed and injured 15 soldiers in the southern Idlib countryside.
