Syria in Past 24 Hours: Army on Verge of Massive Military Operations in Demilitarized Zone

Idlib

The Arabic-language website of Sputnik news agency quoted the source as saying on Tuesday that given Turkey’s failure to implement its undertakings based on the Sochi agreement with Russia, the Syrian army will kick off military operations against the terrorists in the demilitarized zone if they continue attacks against the army positions.

He added that Northern Hama has in recent days witnessed attacks by the terrorist groups, specially Horras al-Din, against the Syrian army near the region under the supervision of Turkey near the town of Murak, noting that Jeish al-Izza militants have also sent military equipment from Southern Idlib to al-Latamineh front in Northern Hama.

The source said that the Syrian army has responded to the terrorists’ offensives in demilitarized zone so far, adding that the army will launch massive military operations in the region if they continue.

Meantime, the Arabic-language al-Watan newspaper reported that the terrorists are stationed in the arms-free zone from Northeastern Lattakia to Hama, Idlib and Northwestern Aleppo, adding that the army has targeted the moves by Tahrir al-Sham Hay’at (the Levant Liberation Board or the Al-Nusra Front) terrorist group in the village of al-Janabereh and al-Latamineh in Northern Hama with artillery fire, inflicting heavy tolls on them.

Hama

The Syrian Army troops opened heavy fire at terrorists’ movements in Northern Hama and managed to fend off their offensive on Wednesday, inflicting major losses on the militants.

The Syrian Army’s missile and artillery units opened heavy fire at a group of terrorists in the village of Atshan in Northern Hama, repelling their attack on the government forces’ positons.

Other artillery units pounded terrorists’ strongholds in the town of al-Latamina in Northern Hama, inflicting major damage on them.

Terrorists suffered heavy casualties in the failed attack and pulled the remaining pockets of gunmen from the battlefield.

Aleppo

The rival terrorist groups of Tahrir al-Sham Hay’at and the National Liberation Front engaged in a fresh round of fierce clashes in Northern and Northwestern Aleppo on Wednesday, inflicting major losses on each other.

Tahrir al-Sham stormed the positions of the National Liberation Front and managed to capture the small town of Kafr Hamra.

In the meantime, other units of the National Liberation Front drove Tahrir al-Sham out of Jam’iyat al-Nour region South of the town of Anadan in Northern Aleppo and also captured Tahrir’s checkpoints in the small town of Yaqed al-Adas in Northwestern Aleppo.

Meanwhile, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that heavy fighting is underway between Tahrir al-Sham and National Liberation Front over control of the highway that connects Aleppo to the Turkish town of Gaziantep, adding that both warring sides are reinvigorating their positions in Northern and Northwestern Aleppo.

It further said that the National Liberation Front had cut off a road from Tahrir al-Sham’s positions in Western Aleppo to the Northwestern part of the province.

A number of terrorists, including commanders, have been killed or wounded in the recent infighting.

Hasaka

The Kurdish militia went on alert in Hasaka province at the border with Turkey after Ankara forces intensified attacks on Kurdish positions in more regions in Northern Syria, field sources reported on Wednesday.

The sources said that the Turkish army’s mortar units pounded the Kurdish militias’ positions in a border-crossing near the town of Tal Abyadh in Northern Raqqa.

They further said that an SDF gunman was killed and another one war injured in the attack.

In the meantime, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) kept forces on alert in the town of Ra’as al-Ein in Northwestern Hasaka at the border with Turkey.

Ankara has several times in the last week threatened the Kurds of military operation.

Raqqa

 Syrian medical officials announced on Wednesday that the corpses of thousands of civilians killed in the US airstrikes and ISIL attacks have been found in Raqqa.

The Arabic-language al-Watan newspaper quoted a senior medical official in Raqqa named Jamal Issa as saying that the US forces pounded Raqqa city for one month last August without any interruption after transferring the ISIL terrorists from Raqqa to Deir Ezzur, adding that the US airstrikes destroyed over 85% of the city, including all infrastructures, and killed thousands of civilians.

He added that a large number of mass-graves have been found after occupation of Raqqa by the US forces, noting that 4,000 corpses of civilians, including nearly 2,500 children, women and the elderly, have been unearthed from the mass-graves.

Issa said that in addition to the mass-graves, the bodies of hundreds of people have been discovered from rubbles, adding that only 2% of the ruins have been unloaded.

Based on the report, recently a mass-grave containing 1,500 corpses has also been found in Panorama region in Raqqa city where bodies of the civilians killed in the US warplanes’ attacks last year were buried.

One year after occupation of Raqqa, mass graves of victims of the US raids and attacks by the ISIL terrorists and the Syrian Democratic Forces are being found regularly in the city.

Quneitra

People in the Israeli-occupied Golan conducted general strike in protest of Tel Aviv’s aggressive measures after the occupiers’ plan to force Golan residents to take part in a local municipal election failed, Syria’s state-run news agency reported on Wednesday.

SANA reported that residents of occupied Golan in Quneitra province in the small towns of Majdal Shams, Baqa’atha, Ma’adah and Ein Qaniyah have gone on a general strike on Wednesday to show their strong will to resist against Judiazation of the region.

It further said that the Golan residents underlined their commitment to Syrian identity, saying that they will never accept annexation of their region to Israel.

In the meantime, the Lebanese al-Akhbar daily pointed to the popular uprising and ban on Israeli local election by the Syrians in Majdal Shams, Baqa’atha, Ma’adah and Ein Qaniyah in recent days and said that people pushed the Israeli election plan into complete failure.

Deir Ezzur

Almost 20 civilians were killed in the US-led coalition fighter jets’ airstrike in Southeastern Deir Ezzur, local sources reported on Wednesday.

The sources said that the warplanes targeted residential areas in the small towns of al-Shafa’ah and al-Kashmah in Southeastern Deir Ezzur on Tuesday afternoon, killing at least 17 civilians, including 4 women and 3 children, and injuring tens of others.

The sources said that death toll is likely to rise as some of the injured are in critical conditions.

Also on Wednesday,  two ISIL commanders who had ordered attacks on Kurdish militia positions in Deir Ezzur were killed during operations by Hashd al-Shaabi (Iraqi popular forces) in the bordering areas with Syria after the US forces refrained from targeting them.

Ahmad Nasrallah, the commander of Hashd al-Shaabi in Western al-Anbar, said on Wednesday that his forces attacked three ISIL gatherings near al-Baqouz region in Syria at the borders with Iraq with artillery fire.

He added that during the operations, 2 notorious ISIL commanders, namely Abu Sayyaf and Abu Laith, who had led the recent ISIL attacks on the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which has withdrawn from the borders, were killed.

Nasrallah said that Division 8 of the Iraqi army had provided the American forces with intelligence and coordinates of the ISIL concentration centers but they refused to attack the terrorist group.