Eight regime troops were killed during an attack led by "Hayat Tahrir al-Sham" in Hama near a planned buffer zone, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
"An assault by Tahrir al-Sham targeted a Syrian regime position on the outskirts of the de-militarised zone" and was followed by clashes in which eight regime forces were killed, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
SOHR reported that the attack happened after members of Tahrir al-sham were able to infiltrate positions of the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them and the 5th Legion which "was established by Russia in al-Tarabea’ area south of Halfaya town in the northern countryside of Hama within the demilitarized area."
Through its infiltration, Tahrir al-Sham fighters were able to kill and injure 8 members of the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them. Two Tahrir al-Sham members were killed.
Two months ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed on a demilitarized area in Idlib.
Syrian forces earlier attacked Jaysh al-Izza site in the demilitarized are in Hama’s northern countryside, killing at least 23 of Jaysh al-Izza fighters.
Tahrir al-Sham and other groups control two-thirds of the zone and a large portion of the demilitarized zone.
A military official of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham told Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) that Tahrir al-Sham fighters attacked the military operations room in al-Tarabea’ area, killing over 20 fighters of Syrian regime, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and Lebanese Hezbollah, as well as 7 Russian soldiers.
