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In the afternoon of March 20, radical militants launched a barrage of rockets at the Christian town of Mahardah in the government-held part of the northern Hama countryside.
Local sources said that the attack didn’t result in any casualties. Despite this, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) responded by striking militants’ positions in the towns of al-Lataminah, Kafr Zita, Latmin and Arba’een with heavy rockets.
The SAA also destroyed a vehicle of the militants near the town of Kinda in the western Idlib countryside. Opposition activists said that the vehicle was destroyed with a Kornet anti-tank guided missile (ATGM).
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack on Mahardah. However, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its close allies, Jaysh al-Izza and the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), are known for shelling the town on a regular basis.
Local observers believe that these repeated violations of the Russian-Turkish demilitarized zone agreement could force the Russian Aerospace Forces and the Syrian Arab Air Force (SyAAF) to resume their operations over the governorate of Idlib, similar to what happened earlier this month.
