HTS Militants Raid Two Syrian Army Positions In Southern Idlib, Kill Or Wound 15 Soldiers (Photos)

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On December 22, militants of al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the de-facto ruler of the northwestern Syrian region of Greater Idlib, raided two positions of the Syrian Arab Army near the villages of Maarat Mukhaws and Bureij in the southern Idlib countryside.

HTS claimed that 15 service members of the SAA were killed or wounded during the raids. The group also said that a battel tank was destroyed with a guided missile.

The terrorist group’s media network, Amjad, released photos showing some of the preparations for the raids as well as scenes from the clashes with SAA troops. The dead bodies of three Syrian soldiers can be seen in the photos.

These were the fifth and sixth attacks by HTS on SAA positions around Greater Idlib this month. On December 11, the group’s militants raided positions near the village of Dadikh in the southern Idlib countryside, and several others around the village of al-Bayda in the northern countryside of Lattakia. On December 17, the militants attempted to capture a position near the town of Kabtan al-Dżabal in the western countryside of Aleppo. Later on December 18, the militants attacked a position in the town of Arbikh in the eastern Idlib countryside.

HTS’ recent attacks were a blatant violations of the ceasefire in Greater Idlib, which was brokered by Russia and Turkey more than two years go. However, the SAA and its allies are yet to respond to these attacks.

The terrorist group may be trying to stir tensions between Ankara, who maintains a large force in Greater Idlib, and Damascus in response to reports of a near Russian-sponsored rapprochement between the two.

It is also possible that HTS is preparing to launch a large-scale ground offensive against the SAA, and that its recent attacks were just  reconnaissance by fire.

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