This morning, government forces have launched a fresh atack against Hayat Tahir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda) and its allied militant groups in the northern countryside of the Syrian city of Hama.
The goal of the operation is to retake an important militant-held town of Halfaya located east of Mahardeh and north of Khattab recently captured by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and other pro-government formations.
The government attack started from heavy artillery strikes targeting militant positions inside and outside Halfaya and a firefight erupted in the area between Halfaya and Mahardeh.
Pro-government sources believe that the SAA and its allies will attempt to enter Halfaya later today after the end of the fire preparation. However, if government forces decide to advance on Halfaya only from the eastern direction, the attack will likely result in no gains.
Government forces have to develop a momentum at least from two directions (for example from the east and from the south) to have notable chances to regain this important town from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and its allies.
The jihadi offensive have completely failed like the previous times in Hama . BTW there is interesting development . Soon there could be alliance between rebel groups against HTS and SAA .
@ Trustin Judeau,
I would surmise that the main reason for so called ‘moderates’ stating that Al Nusra is to curry favour with the US so that the US restarts paying their wages and arming them again.
As we know, terrorists are just that, ‘ terrorists’ and there should be no bargaining with any of them.
The so called moderates are weak force . If they werent agents of USA and company they would have reconciled years ago . When was the last time FSA alone had big success ? The offensives of the rebels since 2016 were led by HTS and Jund Al Aqsa . And when the rebels were making gains it was because of suicide bombings . And we know which group use suicides . In the failed Hama offensive the weakest point was the FSA groups called Jaish Al Izza .
All military forces are terrorist, the term is merely used as a euphemism for those on the other side. it’s a mistake in a war of attrition not to use diplomacy as well as force and propaganda to weaken your opponents.
I’m sure the article meant attack from the west , not eastern direction. If they can Attack from the east, the SAA has made huge gains into terrorist territory.
The success of this offensive is owed in part to the use of the TOS artillery and their new extended range rockets. It is doing a good job in neutralizing fortifications and their TOW anti tank guns.
Russia has developed an array of new weapons and sensors as a result of this war. Much of the advantage rebels had over the SAA in using modern command centers the US originally created for special ops is getting countered by better SAA command centers from Russia.
yea i was wondering i thought they were advancing from the west? i love what u said tho
“…heavy artillery strikes….” no, artillery does not go on strike, it is used to bombard or barrage and it is either field, medium or heavy artillery; heavy is not a synonym for “a lot”. Use descriptive terms and leave the masturbatory journalistic hyperbole for illiterate English Literature graduates.
Are you serious? “strikes” also means ‘hits” in the English dictionary. Also “heavy” can be defined as “a large weight of, or large amount of” To rephrase it “a large amount of artillery hits” (how is this better writing?).
You’re an American aren’t you?
No, I am Houthi in N Yemen. Please send food and more Scud guidance systems ASAP. :D