File image.
Late on October 14, al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launch a new attack on the Turkish-backed 3rd Corps in the village of Kafr Janneh in the northern countryside of Syria’s Aleppo.
The attack was quickly repelled by the 3rd Corps, who reportedly killed as many as six militants of HTS. At least two other militants of the terrorist group’s elite were captured. The group also lost a number of vehicles, which were destroyed by 3rd Corps militants with anti-tank guided missiles.
During the attack, several shells hit a base of the Turkish military near Kafr Janneh. Three Turkish soldiers were allegedly wounded. According to a number of Syrian opposition activists, HTS was behind the attack.
HTS and the 3rd Corps have been battling in the northern Aleppo countryside for Three days. The battle broke out when the 3rd Corps, which is led by the al-Shamiya Front, launched a large attack on the Turkish-backed Hamzah Division.
On the first day of the battle, the 3rd Corps managed to push Hamzah militants out from the town of al-Bab. However, on the second day, both the Turkish-backed Suleyman Shah Division and HTS intervened in support of the Hamzah Division. By the third day, HTS had occupied much of Afrin area, including the city center and began advancing towards the town of Azaz, the stronghold of the 3rd Corps. Hamzah and Suleyman Shah militants also launched an attack on al-Bab.
This was the second attack by HTS on Kafr Janneh in less than 24 hours. The first attack was also repelled by the 3rd Corps within a few hours.
Click to see full-size map. Source: (@Suriyakmaps) on Twitter, Via Google Maps – TerraMetrics.
HTS will likely renew its attack on Kafr Janneh in the upcoming few hours. The village is considered to be the western entrance to Azaz, thus it is of vital importance for the terrorist group that wants to cement its new gains in the northern Aleppo countryside.
The attack on the Turkish base near Kafr Janneh could, however, provoke a fierce response from the Turkish military, even if it was not intentional. While Turkey appears to be ok with HTS advance in the northern Aleppo countryside, it will not likely tolerate the terrorist group’s hostile actions towards its troops.
