Khaled Iskef
21st Century Wire
On Sunday evening, the Syrian army launched new military operations targeting militants-controlled areas in the countryside of Idlib governorate, focusing its progress towards the strategic Jabal Zawiya, which governs a wide geographical area from the “M4” highway linking Saraqib to Latakia City.
Throughout its new operations, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) are working to achieve a bank of strategic goals, the first of which is to expand control to the west of the M5 international highway from Aleppo to Damascus, as well as reopening the international highway linking the cities of Aleppo and Lattakia through Saraqeb in Idlib countryside.
A field source said that the Syrian Army had brought in military reinforcements by which it launched a military operation towards the villages to the west of Maarat al-Numan city on the Aleppo-Damascus M5 international highway in the southern countryside of Idlib, and yesterday it controlled over the villages of Hantounin and Sheikh Dams getting close to Kafr Nebol, which is considered one of the biggest strongholds of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham(HTS)/Al-Nusra militia and its allied takfiri factions in southern Idlib.
The source indicated that, since the dawn of Monday, the Syrian army has continued its progress and took control over Tal Al-Nar and Tal Bruma along with the villages of Al-Naqir, Sheikh Mustafa, Kafr Sijnah, Arinbah and Rakaya in Idlib southern countryside, after violent clashes with the militants of HTS/Al-Nusra and its allies and despite all the fiery support from the Turkish forces deployed in Idlib countryside.
There was a complete collapse among HTS/Al-Nusra militants and its allies during the Syrian army’s progress operations in Idlib countryside, while received information indicated that a large number of militants were killed and wounded during these fights.
Political analysts considered the Syrian military move in Idlib as a message to Ankara ignoring its threats of launching a military operation at the end of February against the Syrian army if it does not withdraw from the areas it recently controlled. The Syrian army had confirmed earlier, in a statement issued by its leadership, to continue the military operations until complete removing of the militants from the two governorates of Aleppo and Idlib completely, despite all the Turkish threats and the raised pace of media rhetoric put out by Turkish officials against Damascus.
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