A fierce confrontation has broken out between Syrian Arab army units and militants on the outskirts of the town of Ma’arret-Nuuman, which has become a strategic stronghold for Islamists.
For example, clashes took place near the towns of Al-Gadfa, Talmenes and the previously liberated Jarjanaz, where government troops managed to break through the line of defense of jihadists and go to the M-5 highway near the village of Hish. The SAA was thus able to launch an offensive on Maarret al-Nuuman, not only from the east but also from the south.
As News Front reported earlier, the offensive operation in Idlib de-escalation zone is carried out by forces of the 4th and 7th mechanized divisions of the SAA, as well as the 25th special purpose division, which consists of fighters of the elite unit “Tiger Force”. They have already cleared several localities east of Ma’arret-Nu’man from the terrorists. The militants even retreated from the town of Jarjanaz, which separated government troops from a key Islamist base.
Militants from the terrorist groups Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Ansar al-Tawheed and Khurras al-Din, have escalated the conflict. The attacks occurred on the night of December 20. Government forces were able to repel the attack. The Syrian Arab Army then went on the offensive with the support of the Russian Air and Space Forces.