On Wednesday, Syrian opposition forces on Wednesday launched a major attack to retake the strategic city of Saraqeb, just two days after its fall to the Syrian regime, opposition activists said.
From six axes, the Syrian National Army began its battle to repulse regime forces and allied Shiite militias from the town that sits on a major highway that links Syria’s two largest cities, Damascus and Aleppo.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said Turkish drone attacks near Saraqeb killed nine Syrian soldiers.
A day before the planned meeting between the leaders of Turkey and Russia to discuss the escalation in Idleb, Ankara seems stubborn and no ‘concessions’ have been offered since its smart missiles and armed drones have been rocking the regime army bastions.
The Turkish Defense Ministry said about 2,500 regime troops have been killed in three weeks and tens of tanks and missiles batteries have been destroyed and bombed out of service.
On Monday, Syrian state-run news agency SANA said regime forces had wrested control of the city back from the rebels and pledged to “confront the flagrant Turkish aggression”.
The town has changed hands more than once. Syrian forces, backed by Russia, entered Saraqeb and established control over it on Feb. 8, 2020, before being pushed out by Turkish-backed armed opposition groups on Feb. 27, 2020, according to Al-Jazeera.
Turkey said that two more of its soldiers were killed Wednesday in a Syrian regime attack in northwestern Syria, as steady clashes between the two national armies continued to rack up casualties.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
