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Al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is reportedly reinforcing its remaining positions in the northern Lattakia countryside taking advantage of the current ceasefire.
“HTS deployed reinforcements in its positions on the axis of Kabani in the Kurd mountain in the northern Lattakia countryside in the last 48 hours,” The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said in a report on September 20.
According to the UK-based monitoring group, the terrorist group has deployed additional infantry units, battle tanks and armored vehicles near the strategic town of Kabani.
The opposition-held part of northern Lattakia is a part of Idlib’s demilitarized zone. HTS and other terrorist group were supposed to withdraw from the region under the Sochi agreement.
The SOHR claims that the deployment of the reinforcements was a defensive measure by HTS. However, the terrorist group and its allies could be planning to launch a ground attack similar to the 2013 offensive, in which more than 190 civilians were massacred.
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