Yesterday, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that 40 Syrian soldiers were killed, while 80 others were wounded in an attack by armed factions in the Idlib governorate in the north of the country.
The ministry’s statement stated that the attack took place the day before yesterday, within the violent battles taking place in Idlib Governorate, which is the last stronghold of the Syrian opposition.
The statement indicated that about 200 gunmen, 20 cars, tanks, two armored vehicles and two car bombs, attacked the positions of the Syrian forces in Idlib countryside.
The reconciliation center of the Russian Ministry of Defense said: "The attack was preceded by intense shooting exercises, using balloons, multiple missile launch systems and artisanal drones, and as a result of the fire the militants forced the Syrian forces to leave their positions and move south."
Most of Idlib, which currently includes about four million Syrians, is controlled by the "Headquarters for the Liberation of Al-Sham" (formerly Nusra), with fewer other armed factions than the opposition.
Damascus and its ally Russia have stepped up their operations in the region since December, particularly in the southern Idlib countryside, which has pushed about 350,000 people to move north toward safer areas, according to the United Nations.
This comes at a time when the American special envoy for Syria, James Jeffrey, affirmed that the anti-ISIS coalition is continuing its mission in northeastern Syria.
- 200 armed men, 20 cars, tanks, two armored vehicles and two car bombs, attacked army positions in Idlib countryside.