Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda) and its allied militant groups have resized the town of Maardes from government forces in the northern countryside of Hama.
The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s media wing itself also reported that Maardes had been captured by militants.
Militants launched an attack in the area earlier today, using vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs) to break government forces defenses in Maardes. According to various sources, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham-led forces used some 4 VBIEDs during the clashes.
The militants’ success became possible because the Syrian army and other pro-government units had lost momentum while they were preparing an advance on the nearby militant-held town of Souran.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s leadership used it to launch a counter-attack and to seize Maardes.
Jaish al-Izza hit a government Grad missile system with a TOW missile:
Militants are shelling government positions in northern Hama:
Advancing Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militants:
Click to see the full-size image
Click to see the full-size image
Click to see the full-size image
Click to see the full-size image
Click to see the full-size image
Click to see the full-size image
Bad…
yes
https://twitter.com/QalaatAlMudiq/status/849357830448721921
Maybe it’s a trap prepared by Tiger Forces. They used same tactics in north Aleppo…
what kind of trap?
Last year the Tigers advanced towards the Castello road to seal off E Aleppo, but then pulled back quickly to draw the Jihadi reinforcements into a good killing zone. Lets hope the same is true in Maardes.
Thats not trap. More like normal warfare by luck.
You Dream! HTS was free to operate with drones, proof that Russian & SAA were thrown into disarray by her arrival. Repeat, Russia is not providing even an Anti-UAV system, only T62. You lose with steam tanks against UAV and TOWs!
Once again. The guns wont win the peace. How many do You have to kill, before there is no resistance – 1 million, 5 millions….
Those SAA and supporters are the most infantile warriers in the region and not able to make any traps. Well, for mice.
I’m not worried, barring a massive Turkish military intervention on their side into Idlib the tide of war is against the headchoppers. Even the Germans managed to score the odd successful counterattacks late in the war, right until the last weeks of the war.
You are absolutely correct about Turkey. Erdogan can publicly state that Idlib is also full of Terrorist Daesh Sympathizers and need to be crushed and then move in. This is almost likely to happen. Let everybody in this forum know this. Russia has to find a way to forcefully counter these neo-ottoman tyrant.
I still think Erdogan is just making a lot of noise for the home audience. It would be very risky to send Turkish troops into a conflict zone (Idlib) where airstrikes are active. Woops, sorry about your loses! Erdogan can not enforce a safe no fly zone in this province for his troops. He has no rights or ability within Syria to do whatever he wants.
Ha-ha. It might unite Syria.
A big reason is due to the heavy weapons that HTS and co. have collected over time. HTS has no manpower anymore, but has expensive US missiles, which helped it tip the scales.
They’re surrounded by SAA forces so should run out of missiles before long.
Will Russia finally get serious and exterminate these cockroaches? It is evident that the Syrian Army alone cannot accomplish this task, given the continuous flow of weapons from Turkey, the Gulf States and of course the West, that the terrorists receive. End the peace talk farce and bomb them till they are dust.
The farce continues.. https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/putin-and-erdogan-agree-to-support-ceasefire-fight-terrorism/
So why should Assads win. I dont think so. Those corrupt mafiosas has been there too long. I have the same feelings about Turkia – this and that. Those old better hay for the cars shouldnt be leaders of anything.
Obvios Assads are not, and thats not only because of some turks, but because they systematicly has been wrong incl when his father was dictator.
Turks are same thing and it even seems Erdogan would like to be, what Assad was. Turks has been figting Kurds in 100 years and the other way around. Who stop that.
Where do we have some, which can replace some of the worst things in the middle east with something better.
Well me: I prefare Marxist for fanatic kalifatsts with or witout Khalifats. How comes – well all the others are killed.
This is getting embarrassing. . For Russia especially! Smh but you got to give credit to the rebels for thier tenacity… Unbelievable! …
Oh you know how does this song and dance go… They (terrorists) take control of an area, it turns out to be a trap, they get bombarded to oblivion by artillery and etc.., and areas come back to SAA with extra heavy losses for terrorists. Deja Vu, isn’t it.
All the people in these videos are doctors, and these are field hospitals. I read a pro-jihadi report claiming a destroyed “underground” hospital. And then I said wait a minute I’ve never herd of underground hospital, unless it’s a jihadist bunker with several injured lying in the corner.
You seems not to be well informed. Your version is ok too. Its made for wounded soldiers in the frontline.
But many underground hospitals are made down or hidden, because thats the only intact places. Up they are obvios targets using much light. They are made by many NGO`s around the world and take soldiers in as well – incl. the enemy ones compared to, where they are.
Civiles often has non war illnes, and they go to the doctor as well. They are the wast majority and there also often are clinics for them in the same way.
They all have a big infrastructure around them incl. transportations of all kinds and getting medicine of all kinds. Many can live long even if they have diabetes.