Tabnak – As the Syrian army is preparing for the decisive war against the terrorists in Idlib, the United States is trying to consolidate its positions elsewhere in Syria by deepening ties with the armed rebel groups. Meanwhile, Russia expresses concern over the latest move by the terrorist groups in the war-torn Arab country.
In preparation for the final push against the terrorists in Idlib, it is reported that Syrian forces have stepped up their attack against the terrorists’ positions, inflicting major losses on them in the militant-held northwestern province.
Syrian troops carried out concentrated operations on positions of the Takfiri Jabhat Fateh al-Sham militant group, formerly known as al-Nusra Front, on the outskirts of al-Tamania town in Idlib, killing several of them, SANA news agency reported.
In a separate development in Syria's central province of Hama, the Syrian forces carried out an operation against militants in the town of al-Massasina in the northern countryside of the province, snipping at them and killing several of them.
Idlib’s terrorist groups are divided, with an alliance that includes al Qaeda’s former official Syrian affiliate holding most ground. The alliance, Tahrir al-Sham, is designated a terrorist organization by the United Nations.
Meanwhile, US marines have held eight days of unprecedented military exercises with US-backed militants in southern Syria in an attempt to send a “strong message” to Iran and Russia, a senior US military official said.
Colonel Sean Ryan, a US military spokesman, described the drills as “a show of force,” saying that the Pentagon had notified Russia through “de-confliction” channels to prevent “miscommunication or escalate tension”.
“The exercise was conducted to reinforce our capabilities and ensure we are ready to respond to any threat to our forces within our area of operations,’” he noted.
The eight days of drills ended this week at the US military outpost in Tanf, located 24 km to the west from the al-Tanf border crossing between Syria and Iraq in Homs Governorate, said Colonel Muhanad al Talaa, the commander of the US-backed Maghawir al Thawra militant group.
He told Reuters the war games were the first such exercises with live-fire air and ground assault, involving hundreds of US troops and militants operating against the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
At the same time, the main focus of Russia and Iran, as the two main allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is on the situation in the north. In this vein, Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed his concern over terrorist activities in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, the RIA news agency cites the Kremlin as saying.
President Putin discussed the latest developments in Syria's last stronghold of militants with members of Russia's Security Council on Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying.
Syrian army troops are preparing to launch a full-scale military operation against different factions of militants that have practically held hostage the inhabitants of Idlib for a long time.
Syria and Russia have warned that the US, along with Britain and France, is gearing up for a new military attack against Syria as the army prepares for the liberation of Idlib.
