Syria: Ten soldiers killed in attack on military bus

Ten soldiers were killed and nine wounded in a rocket attack on a military bus in northern Syria, the state-run SANA news agency reported today.

The agency said the rocket was fired by rebels and according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights was the deadliest rebel attack since the 2020 ceasefire.

It was not immediately clear whether the attack, which took place in the western part of Aleppo province, was launched by the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sam (HTS) – the region’s leader – or by other rebel forces, according to the Observatory.

The bomber struck shortly after noon in front of a police station, killing at least 10 people and wounding at least 10 others, the bomber struck shortly after noon in front of a police station.

This is the heaviest report of a guerrilla attack since the mediation of Turkey – which supports the Syrian rebels – and Russia – an ally of the Damascus regime – in March 2020.

Prior to Russia’s military intervention in the Syrian war in 2015, Damascus controlled only 20% of its national territory.

With the support of Russia and Iran, the regime of Bashar al-Assad regained control of much of the territory it had lost at the start of the war, which erupted in 2011 when the government brutally suppressed pro-democracy demonstrations.

The last stronghold of the armed opposition is now located in a large part of Idlib province (northwest) and in other areas of the neighboring provinces of Aleppo, Hama and Lattakia. Hayat Tahrir al-Sam, a former Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, has a dominant role in the region along with its allies.

On Sunday, six members of the rebel group were killed and five others were seriously injured by an anti-tank missile fired by regime forces in Hama province, according to the Observatory.

The March 2020 ceasefire, which included Idlib and neighboring areas, was observed despite sporadic attacks from both sides and ongoing Russian airstrikes.

It was achieved at a time when Turkey wanted to maintain its influence in northern Syria and avoid a new phase of fighting in the war that could provoke a new wave of refugees to its borders.

Source: AMPE