On January 19, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) repelled a new large attack on its positions in the southeastern countryside of Idlib.
The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said that al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its allies attacked the town of Abu Dafn. The army repelled the attack following several hours of heavy clashes.
“Army units inflicted heavy losses on the attacking terrorist groups, as they managed to destroy several armored vehicles,” the SANA’s reporter said.
Meanwhile, the National Front for Liberation (NLF), a key ally of HTS, said that the attack was a “raid,” claiming that the SAA sustained heavy losses.
According to the NFL’s claims, a battle tank and an infantry fighting vehicle of the SAA were damaged, an artillery piece was destroyed and dozens of Syrian service members were killed or injured.
Click to see full-size map. Source: (@Suriyakmaps) on Twitter.
A military source told SouthFront that the attack was not a “raid.” The source confirmed that the army sustained some losses, without providing any additional information.
Earlier, HTS claimed that its militants repelled a ground attack by the SAA in southeast Idlib. The attack was likely nothing more than reconnaissance by fire.
