Syrian Army Attacked by ISIS and Al-Qaeda on Two Different Fronts in Hama

On Sunday morning, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and the National Defense Forces (NDF) were surprised by a powerful assault from the Syrian Al-Qaeda group “Jabhat Al-Nusra” and their ally “Liwaa Suqour Al-Sham” (Hawks of the Levant Brigade) at the towns of Al-Lataminah, Al-Bawaydah, and Ma’rkabah in the northern countryside of the Hama Governorate.

The militants from Jabhat Al-Nusra and Liwaa Suqour Al-Sham attempted to break-through the Syrian Armed Forces’ frontline defenses at Al-Bawaydah and Ma’rkabah, where they achieved initial success before reinforcements from the National Defense Forces poured into these towns and helped drive back the enemy combatants towards the border of the Idlib Governorate.

Meanwhile, at Al-Lataminah and Kafr Zita in northern Hama, the besieged militants of Jabhat Al-Nusra and Liwaa Suqour Al-Sham countered the Syrian Arab Army’s 106th Brigade of the Republican Guard, attacking the aforementioned at the southeastern perimeter of both of these towns on Sunday morning; however, the assault proved ineffective as the Republican Guard repelled the attack and restored security around their positions.

To coincide with Al-Qaeda’s attack on northern Hama, the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) launched another assault on the National Defense Forces’ frontline fortifications at the town of Al-Dilaak in east Hama, resulting in a series of fierce clashes near the strategic hill of Tal Ghatwan before the militants from this terrorist group withdrew their combatants as nightfall approached.

With the northern and eastern Hama fronts intensifying, the Syrian Armed Forces have increased the number of reinforcements to their frontlines in Al-Salamiyah and Kafr Zita; these NDF reinforcements derive from the cities of Masyaf, Mhardeh and Sqaylabiyah in western Hama.