‘Moderate Turkish-backed rebels’ with ISIS insignias
On February 24, Turkish-backed rebels bedecked with ISIS insignias made another attempt to capture the village of Nayrab from the Syrian Army. The attack involved members of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda), Fatah al-Mubin (another al-Qaeda-linked organization) and the National Front for Liberation (the coalition of miltiant groups cooperating with al-Qaeda).
Turkish-led forces employed a notable number of Turkish-supplied weapons, equipment and artillery to support the attack. At some moment, they even reached the vicinity of the village, but then they were forced to retreat under attacks from the Syrian Army and Russian airstrikes.
‘Moderate Turkish-backed rebels’ with ISIS insignias
Contrary to the previous attempts, the attack did not directly involve Turkish troops or military advisers. This may indicate that the mighty Turkish Army suffered enough casualties to learn the lesson or the Turkish leadership needs some time to preapare another ‘decisive attack’ on the Syrian Army.
An artillery supports the militant attack on Nayrab:
The failed attack on Nayrab took place amid the ongoing Syrian Army advance in southern Idlib, south of the M4 highway. Government forces have cleared over a dozen of settlements from Turkish-led forces since the resumption of the offensive in the area on February 23. In the course of this effort, Syrian soldiers reportedly captured 3 vehicles and eliminated up to 10 militants.
Photos below show Syrian troops in the village of Kafr Sajnah recently liberated in southern Idlib:
Click to see the full-size image
Click to see the full-size image
Click to see the full-size image
Click to see the full-size image
