Syrian Army Repels Terrorists' Heavy Offensive from Demilitarized Zone

The army soldiers exchanged heavy fire with a large number of terrorists of Kata'eb al-Izzah, deployed in al-Latamina in the demilitarized zone, and warded off their attack on government forces near the small town of al-Masasanah in Northern Hama.

The terrorists suffered heavy casualties in the failed attack.

In the meantime, the army's artillery and missile units pounded terrorists' positions and movements in the towns of al-Latamina, Kafr Zita and near the villages of al-Arabaeen and al-Zakat.

The army's heavy artillery and missile attack forced the terrorists to pull forces back from al-Latamina that was supposed to be one of the largest foreign terrorists' bases in Northern Hama.  

The terrorists' refusal to implement the Sochi Agreement to establish a demilitarized zone is pushing the army to initiate its long-waited assault on militants in Idlib that had been put on hold due to the Sochi Agreement.

Colonel Mar'ei Hamdan, a Syrian military expert, was quoted by the Arabic-language website of Sputnik news agency as saying last month that Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at (the Levant Liberation Board or the Al-Nusra Front) is in control of nearly 70% of towns and villages in Idlib province and makes provocative moves against the Syrian army, adding that the army's commitment to decrease tensions is not lasting forever.

He added that the Syrian army has so far repelled all attacks by terrorists against its positions and inflicted heavy damages on them, noting that the army is now necessitated to come out of the defensive mood to retake control of Idlib.

Hamdan said that Tahrir al-Sham will resort to a full-scale military operation against the Syrian and Russian armies soon, after rejecting the Sochi agreement last October, which leaves no room for ceasefire or disarmament anymore, and underlined that the Syrian army's battle against Tahrir al-Sham is inevitable.

Meantime, the Turkey-backed Ahrar al-Sham and National Liberation Front (NLF) terrorist groups has also dismissed the Russian-Turkish Sochi agreement and is preparing for military operations against the army in Northern Syria, calling for a coalition with Tahrir al-Sham.

Tahrir al-Sham and other allied terrorist groups have not left the demilitarized zone two months after the Sochi agreement and have instead reinvigorated their strongholds and targeted the army positions every day.

Relevant reports said that the Turkey-backed NLF had put its gunmen on alert to launch a heavy offensive against the Syrian army in the demilitarized zone in Idlib province.

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