Syrian Army Special Forces Arrive at Ariha; Jaysh Al-Fatah Tries to Enter Al-Mastouma

Under the command of Colonel Suheil Al-Hassan, the Syrian Arab Army’s Special Forces brigade “Al-Qawat Al-Nimr” (Tiger Forces) has officially arrived in the Idlib Governorate after spending nearly 6 months at Jabal Al-Sha’ar combatting the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS).

The Tiger Forces are no stranger to the Idlib Governorate, as a few days before their deployment from Jabal Al-Sha’ar in east Homs to Ariha, the latter entered Khan Sheikhoun in southern Idlib, marking the conclusion of their triumphant counter-offensive against the Syrian Al-Qaeda group “Jabhat Al-Nusra” in the northern part of the Hama Governorate.

The conglomerate of Islamist groups that comprise of Jaysh Al-Fatah launched a joint attack on three axes points in the village of Al-Mastouma, where they were met with fierce resistance from the National Defense Forces (NDF) and the SAA’s 11th Tank Division.

Despite a number of Jabhat Al-Nusra social media activists claiming its capture, a Syrian military source confirmed that this alleged news story about the capture of Al-Mastouma was in fact fabricated.

North of Idlib City, Jaysh Al-Fatah began their merciless shelling campaign on the NDF fighters entrenched at the predominately Shia’o villages of Kafraya and Al-Fou’aa; however, no offensive has been launched as of yet.