The task command of the opposition forces said on Tuesday it has controlled more than 20 towns and villages in the northern and western countryside of Hama, northwest Syria.
The Deterrence of Aggression Operation coincides with the continuation of battles and advances towards the city of Hama, the most prominent stronghold of the 25th Special Tasks Division, in central Syria.
The opposition's Military Operations Department said that its forces managed to control the towns and villages of "Qalaat al-Madiq, Soran, Halfaya, Maardis, Taybat al-Imam, Tal al-Nasiriyah, Khattab, and Rahbat Khattab" in the northern countryside of Hama, and "Al-Hawiz, Al-Sharia, Bab al-Taqah, Al-Tuwaina, Al-Hawawash, Al-Hawija, Beit al-Ras, Al-Hamra, Al-Amqiyah, Tanjara, Al-Karkat, and Al-Mustariha" in the northwestern countryside of Hama .
Opposition forces swept into the city of Aleppo, east of Idlib province, on Friday night, forcing the army to redeploy in the biggest challenge to President Bashar al-Assad in years.
The opposition forces are a coalition of Turkey-backed mainstream secular armed groups along with Hyat Tahrir al Sham, a group that is the opposition’s most formidable military force.
Hyat Tahrir al Sham is designated a terrorist group by the US, Russia, Turkey and other states. Al-Assad is a close ally of Moscow.
In relevant development, An Israeli airstrike hit a car on the Damascus airport road on Tuesday, causing it to explode, Syria’s official news agency SANA reported.
“A car exploded after it was targeted in an Israeli aggression on the road to Damascus International Airport,” SANA reported, citing a police source.
It did not say who was targeted or if there were any casualties.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said one person was killed and another wounded in an Israeli drone strike, without specifying who was targeted.
Since Syria’s war broke out in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria, mainly targeting the army and Iran-backed groups including Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
Israel rarely comments on such strikes, but has repeatedly said it will not allow Iran to expand its presence in the country.
Before a Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire took effect last week, Israel intensified its strikes on Syria from September 26, days after launching an intense bombing campaign mainly targeting Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon.
The Israel-Hezbollah war escalated in September after almost a year of cross-border clashes.
The war, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced many millions, has ground on since 2011 with no formal end. But most major fighting halted years ago after Iran and Russia helped al-Assad’s government win control of most land and all major cities.
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