BEIRUT: Attacks by two jihadist groups killed at least 17 Syrian government troops and militiamen in the northern province of Aleppo early on Saturday, a war monitor said.

Thirty others were wounded in the assaults by Al-Qaeda's former Syria branch, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), and its ally Hurras al-Deen, which remains affiliated to the global jihadist network, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The attacks in the southern and southwestern countryside of Aleppo province were launched shortly after midnight and triggered clashes that continued until dawn, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said.

He said the fighting subsided after Russian aircraft struck jihadist positions in the area, prompting the fighters to pull back.

Eight jihadists were killed, he added.

Russia aircraft also carried out strikes in neighbouring Hama province early on Saturday, killing five civilians, the Observatory said.

On Friday, Russian strikes killed 10 civilians in Idlib province, the hub of territory held by the jihadists of HTS in northwestern Syria.

Russia and rebel-backer Turkey in September inked a buffer zone deal to avert a massive government offensive on the Idlib region, but the deal has never been implemented.

The region of some three million people has come under increasing bombardment since HTS took full control of it in January.

The latest Russian air raids came after two days of talks on the Syrian conflict between Turkey, Russia and fellow government backer Iran in Kazakhstan earlier this week.

The three governments expressed concern over the growing power of HTS in Idlib and parts of adjacent provinces, and determination to cooperate to eliminate the jihadist group.

The civil war in Syria has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions since it began with the bloody repression of anti-government protests in 2011. </s> BEIRUT: Nearly 100 combatants were killed on Friday in clashes between fighters loyal to Syria’s government, rebels and Jihadists in northwestern Syria, a war monitor said.

Starting at dawn on Friday morning -- and after bombing by the regime -- fighting in northern Hama province killed 51 government loyalists and allied militiamen, and 45 among the rebels and Jihadists, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The clashes continued in the afternoon, the Britain-based Observatory said. Backed by its ally Moscow, Damascus has since late April intensified bombardment of much of Idlib province and the parts of neighbouring Hama, Aleppo and Latakia where Syria’s former Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) holds sway.

Fighting has meanwhile taken place on the ground in parts of these anti-regime areas, particularly in northern Hama. Syria’s official Sana news agency also reported bombardment on Friday.

"Units of the army today carried out massive bombing at dawn.... on positions of the terrorist Al-Nusra Front in (and) around the villages of Jibine and Tal Maleh," Sana said, referring to positions held by HTS.

The bombardment led to "the destruction of the terrorists’ fortifications and their lines of defence", it added. They took place in response to attacks against the villages and cities in Hama, the news agency said.

Idlib and parts of neighbouring Hama, Aleppo and Latakia provinces were supposed to be protected by a buffer zone under an September agreement between Russia and Turkey. But the region has come under increased bombardment by the regime and its Russian ally since HTS seized most of Idlib at the start of the year.

The Turkish defence ministry said on Friday a Turkish soldier was killed and three others were wounded the day before by fire from Syrian government forces against a Turkish observation post in Idlib province. </s> BEIRUT — An explosion outside an office belonging to an al Qaeda-linked group in the country’s northwestern on Friday killed at least 11 people and wounded several others, opposition activists said.

The blast comes a week after members of the al Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Arabic for Levant Liberation Committee, or HTS, took over control of wide parts of Idlib province and the surrounding countryside after forcing rival insurgents to accept a deal for a civil administration run by HTS in their areas.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Smart news agency, an activist collective, said the blast occurred on the southern edge of the rebel-held city of Idlib.

The Observatory said 11 people were killed in the blast, including seven HTS members. Smart said 12 people were killed, many of them militants.

In the country’s east, an air strike in the last area held by the Islamic State killed at least 20 people in the village of Baghouz, according to the state news agency SANA. The Observatory said 23 people were killed including 10 Islamic State members.

They both blamed the U.S.-led coalition that has been providing air cover to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in their months-long offensive to capture the area from extremists near the Iraqi border.

Meanwhile in Turkey, President Tayyip Erdogan met with U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham to discuss the situation in Syria as the United States prepares to withdraw troops.

Graham, a prominent voice on foreign affairs in the U.S., met with Erdogan and other Turkish officials Friday for talks that were also expected to include a proposal for the creation of a “safe zone” in northeast Syria.

The visit comes days after a suicide bombing, claimed by Islamic State, killed two U.S. service members and two American civilians in the northeastern town of Manbij. </s> At least 17 Syrian government troops and their allies were killed by two armed groups in Syria's northern province of Aleppo, a war monitor said.

About 30 others were also wounded in the Saturday morning assaults by Hay'et Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its ally Hurras al-Deen, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The HTS-linked Ibaa news agency said the attacks killed more than 20 soldiers. It added the attacks were in retaliation for the bombardment by the Syrian and Russian militaries of rebel-held areas in recent days.

Saturday's attacks in the southern and southwestern countryside of Aleppo province were launched shortly after midnight and triggered clashes that continued until dawn, said Rami Abdel Rahman, the Observatory's chief.

He said the fighting subsided after Russian aircraft struck the armed groups' positions, prompting the fighters to pull back.

Eight armed attackers were killed, he added.

Russian aircraft also carried out raids in neighbouring Hama province early on Saturday, killing five civilians, the Observatory said.

On Friday, Russian raids killed at least 10 civilians in Idlib province, the hub of territory held by HTS in northwestern Syria.

Syria's state news agency SANA said rebels shelled the northern government-held village of Hader killing two civilians and wounding others.

Buffer zone

Russia and rebel-backer Turkey in September inked a buffer zone deal to avert a massive government offensive on Idlib, but the deal has never been implemented.

The region of some three million people has come under increasing bombardment since HTS took full control of it in January.

The latest Russian air raids came after two days of talks on the Syrian conflict between Turkey, Russia and fellow government backer Iran in Kazakhstan earlier this week.

The three governments expressed concern over the growing power of HTS in Idlib and parts of adjacent provinces, and determination to cooperate to eliminate the group.

The civil war in Syria has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions since it began with the bloody repression of anti-government protests in 2011. </s> Airstrikes in rebel-held northwestern Syria kill at least 8

BEIRUT (AP) — Government forces intensified their bombardment of rebel-held towns and villages in northwest Syria, killing at least eight people Tuesday, including five in an airstrike on a market, opposition activists said.

The new wave of violence that began on April 30 is the worst since September, when Russia and Turkey brokered a cease-fire that averted a government offensive on Idlib province, the last major rebel stronghold. The new wave of violence has resulted in hundreds of civilian dead and injured and over 150,000 newly displaced persons, according to the U.N.

Idlib province, that is home of 3 million people many of them displaced from other parts of Syria, is mostly controlled by al-Qaida-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS.

The latest wave of violence was triggered by attacks by HTS gunmen that killed dozens of troops.

Opposition-linked first responders, known as the White Helmets, said warplanes bombed a market in the village of Ras el-Ain on Tuesday morning, killing five people, including three children, and wounding 20. White Helmets also said that three other people were killed in the villages of Maar Tamater and Bara.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, reported airstrikes and shelling on Idlib and northern rebel-held parts of Hama province. It said 13 civilians were killed on Tuesday alone.

The Observatory said insurgents Tuesday attacked army positions in Latakia province on the edge of Idlib killing nine soldiers and pro-government gunmen. The Observatory said three insurgents were killed in the attack.

Syrian state news agency SANA said troops were pounding insurgents' positions "in retaliation for their violations of the truce."

An HTS military commander known as Abu Khaled al-Shami said in comments posted online that the looming battle "will be decisive and we will use all our capabilities that will surprise the enemy."

On Monday, Syrian troops captured the village of al-Bani and the nearby Othman hill in the northern countryside of Hama province. </s> Syrian local councils call for humanitarian corridor as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham ramps up FSA clashes in Idlib

A huge blast on Friday rocked the city of Idlib, a stronghold of an al-Qaida branch in northwestern Syria, killing at least 11 people, a war monitor reported.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights added that the cause of the explosion was not immediately clear.

Locals in Idlib said the blast had rocked the headquarters of the al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which controls the area.

One source, who requested anonymity citing security concerns, said the blast was caused by a car bombing that targeted the HTS headquarters in the city.

Seven of the 11 fatalities were fighters, Observatory head Rami Abdel-Rahman said.

Earlier this month, the al-Qaida's affiliate in Syria extended its control over an enclave previously held by the moderate National Liberation Front (NLF), after both sides reached a cease-fire deal ending their nine-day fight there.

Idlib is the capital city of the province of the same name, which is the last key opposition stronghold in Syria.

In September, Turkey and Russia reached a deal to establish a demilitarized buffer zone in the enclave, a move that prevented a major regime offensive there. </s> BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian government forces came under separate attacks from Islamic State militants and al-Qaida-linked insurgents in different parts of the country that killed nearly 50 soldiers and allied fighters, activists and a war monitoring group said Saturday.

In one attack, IS militants ambushed Syrian government forces in the desert of central Homs province Thursday night, setting off two days of clashes that killed 27 soldiers, including four officers, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

A pro-government militia, known as Liwa al-Quds, confirmed the ambush, saying it had sent its fighters to liberate the two besieged battalions, made up of nearly 500 soldiers, east of the town of al-Sukhna.

In a Facebook post, the militia said it successfully broke the siege and liberated the surviving soldiers before pulling the bodies of those killed and damaged vehicles to safety.

Liwa al-Quds, one of the elite militias operating side by side with government troops, didn’t give a casualty figure. It said the besieged battalions were out in desert looking for an army division that disappeared in the area over the last few days.

The Islamic State group lost its last territories in Syria in March after months of battles with U.S-backed Kurdish-led fighters in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour. But the militants remain active in the desert to the west of Deir el-Zour, where they have taken refuge and increasingly targeted government troops and allied militia.

The militant group, which once controlled large swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq, has kept a network of sleeper cells active in both countries. It has also kept up its media operations. The IS-affiliated Aamaq news agency reported the attack east of al-Sukhna, saying that in 24 hours of clashes its militants killed nearly two dozen Syrian soldiers and officers. It said the militants also seized Syrian government ammunition and vehicles.

Separately, government forces came under an attack from insurgents of al-Qaida-linked Hayat Tahir al-Sham in northwest Syria, where a cease-fire is supposed to be in place.

The Observatory said the insurgents assaulted the government positions west of Aleppo early Saturday, killing 21 soldiers and allied fighters. Baladi news, an activist-operated news site, said the attack in Akrab village killed 27 soldiers, quoting an HTS operative. Akrab overlooks the Aleppo-Damascus highway.

A cease-fire was reached in the area in September but is increasingly tested. The area includes the last major stronghold of the armed opposition.

The cease-fire was negotiated by Russia and Turkey, who support opposite sides of the conflict but who have closely coordinated their policies.

Copyright © 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area. </s> Syrian government forces have resumed their offensive on the positions of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra) and the Turkish-backed Front for National Liberation (NFL).

Over the past two days, units of the Syrian Arab Army and the Tiger Forces have liberated the villages of Qasabiya, Humayrat, Hardanah and Qirutiyah. According to pro-government sources, army troops are now aiming to liberate Meidan Ghazal, Shariya and Deir Sonbol as well as Tal Sakhar, Habit and Abidin.

These settlements are located northwest and east of the town of Kafr Nabudah, a key militant stronghold, which had recently been liberated by the army. The collapse of the militants’ defense there became the main factor allowing government forces to develop their advance.

Multiple Syrian and Russian airstrikes in northern and southern Idlib are being reported by pro-militant sources on a daily basis.

The ongoing army advance was launched on June 3 after a failed attempt to establish a temporary ceasefire in the area last week.

Immediately after the declaration of the ceasefire, units of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and the NFL stormed army positions in Kafr Nabudah thus showing their commitment to further hostilities. This predetermined the observed scenario.

According to pro-militant sources, at least 4 pieces of military equipment and over a dozen army troops were killed in the recent clashes. In their turn, government-linked media claim that 8 militants and 2 vehicles were eliminated.

On June 4, Israel’s ImageSat Intl. released a satellite image showing the alleged impact of Israel’s June 2 strike on the T4 airbase in Syria.

The Israeli satellite and data analysis company claimed in its report that the strike had targeted “an element or a few” speculating that they may have been some kind of “advanced weapon system element”. Nonetheless, it was not able to provide evidence to confirm these speculations.

Syria and Iran provided no details as to what kind of infrastructure or weapon systems were targeted in the T4 airbase. Nonetheless, it’s an open secret that Iran uses this airbase for UAV operations across the country.
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Filed under: Al Qaeda, AngloZionist Empire, Nusra Front, SAA, Turkey, USA, War on Syria | Tagged: Hama, Liberation of Idlib | </s> Smoke and fire rise following reported Syrian government forces' bombardment on the town of Khan Sheikhun in the southern countryside of Idlib province, on June 6, 2019

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Beirut (AFP)

Nearly 100 combatants were killed on Friday in clashes between fighters loyal to Syria's government, rebels and jihadists in northwestern Syria, a war monitor said.

Starting at dawn on Friday morning -- and after bombing by the regime -- fighting in northern Hama province killed 51 government loyalists and allied militiamen, and 45 among the rebels and jihadists, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The clashes continued in the afternoon, the Britain-based Observatory said.

Backed by its ally Moscow, Damascus has since late April intensified bombardment of much of Idlib province and the parts of neighbouring Hama, Aleppo and Latakia where Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) holds sway.

Fighting has meanwhile taken place on the ground in parts of these anti-regime areas, particularly in northern Hama.

Syria's official SANA news agency also reported bombardment on Friday.

"Units of the army today carried out massive bombing at dawn.... on positions of the terrorist Al-Nusra Front in (and) around the villages of Jibine and Tal Maleh," SANA said, referring to positions held by HTS.

The bombardment led to "the destruction of the terrorists' fortifications and their lines of defence", it added.

They took place in response to attacks against the villages and cities in Hama, the news agency said.

Idlib and parts of neighbouring Hama, Aleppo and Latakia provinces were supposed to be protected by a buffer zone under an September agreement between Russia and Turkey.

But the region has come under increased bombardment by the regime and its Russian ally since HTS seized most of Idlib at the start of the year.

The Turkish defence ministry said Friday a Turkish soldier was killed and three others were wounded the day before by fire from Syrian government forces against a Turkish observation post in Idlib province.

Since late April, air strikes have killed 490 civilians, according to the Observatory, while fighting has killed 682 pro-regime forces and 821 rebels and jihadists.

The flare-up has also displaced 330,000 others, according to the United Nations, sparking fears of one of the worst humanitarian disasters in Syria's eight-year war.

The conflict in Syria has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions since it erupted in 2011 with the brutal repression of protests against President Bashar al-Assad.

? 2019 AFP
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militants assault several Syrian Army positions in the northern Aleppo Governorate, killing 17 soldiers and wounding 30 others. HTS say the attacks were in response to recent Syrian government and Russian airstrikes on rebel-held areas.