Al EIs was seized after a fierce battle on Saturday with the jihadist rebels of Hay’at Al-Sham (HTS) as well as their allies. Crumbling defensive lines of the militants allowed the Syrians to break through and take the town. However, at least 20 civilians were reported killed in the fighting. Many civilians have fled from battle areas creating huge problems especially as the rebel-held area becomes ever smaller.
Syrian military spokesperson Gen. Ali Mayhoub said that the government had taken an area of more than 600 square kilometers (230 square miles) and captured dozens of towns and villages in recent days and has momentum after gaining a strategic advantage.
Syria wants to secure vital M5 highway
Syria is attempting to reassert control over the vital M5 highway that connects Aleppo and Damascus just at present rather than trying to take control of all of Idlib province.. The highway runs through a few places still controlled by HTS. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said government troops were only a few kilometers (miles) from seizing full control of the strategic road.
Turkey comes into conflict with Assad’s forces
During the past week Turkey has sent hundreds of troops together with military vehicles into the province of Idlib. Inevitably, this lead to a clash with Syrian forces on February 3 that resulted in 8 Turkish military personnel being killed and 13 Syrian soldiers. General Mayoub said that Turkish efforts to back the rebels would not stop their fast collapse. Syria considers all the rebels as terrorist organizations. The area still controlled by rebels has about three million people in it many there because they have fled from other parts of Syria. As the Syrian Army advances civilian casualties appear likely to increase substantially.
Turkey retaliates for Syrian attack
In massive retaliatory attacks, Turkey claimed to have hit 115 targets in Syria. The Turkish Defense Ministry also said that 101 Syrian soldiers had been killed. The Turks also boasted that they had destroyed three tanks and two artillery pieces and hit a government helicopter. They also say they hit some Syrian air defenses.
