Syrian Army Preempts Terrorists' Offensives in Demilitarized Zone in Hama

The army's artillery and missile units, deployed in the small town of Mahradah Shamali pounded the movements of Kata'eb al-Izzah near the town of al-Latamina in Northern Hama and managed to preempt their attack, the source said, adding that the terrorists suffered heavy casualties in the artillery and missile attack.

In the meantime, other artillery units, deployed near the village of Tal Malah shelled a group of terrorists West of the small town of al-Zakat and Hasraya, preempting a second terrorist front that was preparing for an attack from the demilitarized zone.

A large number of terrorists were killed or wounded, their military hardware were destroyed and the remaining pockets of their gunmen were forced to retreat from the battlefield.

Colonel Mar'ei Hamdan, a Syrian military expert, was quoted by the Arabic-language website of Sputnik news agency as saying on Monday that Tahrir al-Sham 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 last Sunday 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.

The Arabic-language al-Watan reported that the Turkey-backed NLF had kept its fighters in and outside the demilitarized zone, envisioned in the Sochi Agreement, on alert for imminent war against the army.

The decision by the NLF came after Ahrar al-Sham called on other terrorist groups to get ready for war against the army in Idlib province.

Message end/