Syrian Army Land Mines Kill a Number of Al-Nusra Front Terrorists in Idlib

Terrorists from the Islamic Front (Jabhat Al-Islamiyya) and Al-Nusra Front (Jabhat Al-Nusra) resumed their attack on the Abu Dhuhour Airbase, as they attempted to infiltrate the Syrian Arab Army’s defenses from the western perimeter. The attack by the 2 militant groups was thwarted by the SAA and members of the National Defense Forces (NDF); this resulted in the death of at least 30 fighters from Islamist militias.

Unknown assailants attempted to attack a National Defense Forces’ checkpoint in the village of Al-Daana on a motorbike, resulting in the death of 2 guards before the attack was repelled in this Idlib Governorate area.

In the Salamiyya area, the NDF forestalled an Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) attack at the village of Sha’ateh located in the Tayba Al-Issam Quarter. The NDF countered the attack and forced the ISIS fighters to retreat further east to the Ar-Raqqa Governorate. NDF sappers dismantled 3 IEDs during the counter-offensive and destroyed 3 vehicles mounted with doshkas.

The SAA’s 11th Tank Division carried out a number of raids in the Salamiyya District; specifically, in the villages of Tal Sawaarfa and Al-Tabara, where they destroyed ISIS hideouts and confiscated a large cache of weapons, ammunition, and drugs. According to a military source, approximately 22 ISIS fighters were killed during these raids.

Civilian sources near the Wadi Al-Deif Military Airbase have reported that dozens of Al-Nusra Front fighters were killed by land mines planted by the Syrian Arab Army’s 11th Tank Division before their withdrawal from the base to the northern Hama city of Morek. The civilians claimed that many of these Al-Nusra Front fighters were taken to local hospitals for medical treatment and that many were severely wounded.