Screen grab from footage released by HTS news agency, Iba’a.
On July 8, al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) shelled government-held areas in the southern part of the Syrian region of Greater Idlib.
The terrorist group fired a barrage of locally-made improvised rocket-assisted munitions (IRAMs) at Syrian Arab Army (SAA) positions in the town of Kafr Nabil. The IRAMs were apparently a new type, smaller than the ones used before by the terrorist group.
The group also shelled the southern outskirts of Kafr Nabil with a US-made M114 155 mm towed howitzer, which was supplied by the Turkish military. Howitzers of this type were spotted with the group in the past.
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Click to see full-size image.
Click to see full-size image.
Click to see full-size image.
Furthermore, HTS militants shelled the town of Bsakla, to the southeast of Kafr Nabil, with an M-46 130 mm towed field gun. The gun was likely captured from the SAA early on in the conflict.
No casualties or material losses were reported as a result of HTS shelling, which represent a blatant violation of the ceasefire in Greater Idlib.
The ceasefire agreement, brokered by Russia and Turkey on March 5 of last year, is barely holding up. The repeated violations by HTS and its allies are destabilizing Greater Idlib. Yet, a major military operation by the SAA and its allies seems unlikely as for now.
