On August 21, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and the Tiger Forces liberated the town of Khan Shaykhun and the areas of Khazanat and Tal Taeri, thus fully encircling remaining militants in northern Hama.

The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham strong points of Kafr Zita, Lataminah, and Morek, as well as the nearby settlements of Lahaya, Markabah, Latmin and Sayad are now fully cut off from their radical counterparts in the Idlib zone. A Morek observation post, where Turkish troops are deployed, is also encircled.

Khan Shaykhun, located on a highway linking Damascus with Aleppo, is one of the biggest urban centers in southern Idlib. For years, it had served as the key stronghold of al-Qaeda-linked militants. Currently, SAA troops are working to secure their recent gains and preparing for a further push to clear the rest of northern Hama.

Reacting to the Syrian military advance, a Turkish presidential spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, saidthat all observation posts, including the one near Murak, will remain in their positions in Greater Idlib. He also revealed that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will speak with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the phone over the situation in Idlib in the next couple of days.

These remarks were accompanied with common Turkish media propaganda accusing the SAA of violating the ceasefire regime and oppressing so-called moderate rebels. But in fact, Turkey just admitted its tactical loss and inability to rescue militants in this part of Syria.

Another important point of Kalin’s statement was dedicated to the US-Turkish ‘safe-zone’ agreement on northern Syria. According to the Turkish side, joint partrols US and Turkish forces will soon be launched east of the Euphrates, within the area controlled by US-backed Kurdish groups. Ankara see these groups as terrorist organizations and has repeatedly shelled their positions. So, it will be interesting to look how this claim will be implemented if US-backed formations remain deployed in the areas of supposed joint patrols.

BEIRUT, LEBANON (10:10 P.M.) – The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) scored a major victory in the southern countryside of the Idlib Governorate this week when the jihadist rebels abandoned several areas, including the strategic city of Khan Sheikhoun. Since the militant withdrawal from Khan Sheikhoun, the Syrian Arab Army has moved into the city and begun clearing the empty neighborhoods, while also securing other areas east of the city. According to a military source near the front-lines, the Syrian Arab Army has completed the siege of northern Hama after capturing several points near the town of Al-Ta’manah in the southern countryside of Idlib. While Al-Ta’manah has not been captured, the Syrian Army has seized most of the points south and east of the town, leaving only a small area left under the control of the jihadist rebels. At the same time, with the Ta’manah-Khan Sheikhoun Road closed off, the Turkish Armed Forces now find themselves encircled by the Syrian Arab Army at the town of Morek. Turkey has already announced that they will not abandon their observation post at Morek, despite the recent militant setbacks. The Turkish regime has also warned the Syrian military about “playing with fire” in this area, especially after the Syrian Air Force almost hit their military convoy in southern Idlib.

Filed under: Al Qaeda, Erdogan, neo-Ottoman, SAA, The 5 Seas Region, Turkey, USA, War on Syria | Tagged: Hama, Khan Sheikhoun, Liberation of Idlib | </s> BEIRUT, LEBANON (3:40 P.M.) – The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) is still not in control of the strategic city of Khan Sheikhoun, despite media claims of the jihadist withdrawal.

According to a military source near the front-lines, the Syrian Army entered the northern part of the city, but did not advance past a few neighborhoods in this sector of Khan Sheikhoun.

He added that the jihadist rebels of Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham are believed to maintain a presence at the southern entrance of the city.

In the last hour, the jihadist rebels have fired several missiles and artillery shells on the strategic hilltop of Talat Al-Nimr, which is located directly north of Khan Sheikhoun.

As long as the Syrian Army controls Talat Al-Nimr, the jihadist rebels will not have access to their most important supply line in southern Idlib and northern Hama.

Furthermore, depsite some claims of a full militant withdrawal from the northern Hama towns of Al-Latamnah, Morek, Kafr Zita, and Latmeen, several fighters from Jays Al-Izza and Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham remain in the area.

They are not fully besieged at this time, but the Syrian Army is on the verge of cutting the Ta’amanah-Khan Sheikhoun Road. Once this is done, the militants will be fully besieged in this pocket. </s> Syrian Army General Command vows to liberate all areas from terrorists

The General Command of the Army and Armed forces announces : Khan Sheikhon city and the towns and villages of Morke, Latamneh, Kafer Zeitta, Latmin, M’arkabeh, Lahaya and Kaeb al-Fars plus strategic hills are now cleansed from terrorists.

“With strong determination to achieve victory, our armed forces positioned in the north of Hama and in the south of Idleb continued to advance on the ground and to defeat armed terrorist groups holed up in the region after inflicting heavy losses upon them,”the Command’s statement said today.

It went on to say: “After intensive strikes carried out over the past days and cordoning off the northern countryside of Hama, our brave soldiers have managed to clean the following towns: Khan Sheikhoun, Morek, Latamneh, Sayad hill, mostawda’at, Wadi Anz, Wadi Asal, Kafer Zetta, Latmin, M’akrabeh, Lhaya , Fares hill, Latmin, hill, Wadi Hasmin, Wadi Qesmin and Kaeb al-Faras.”

The statement affirmed the continuity of military operations against terrorist organizations till the liberation of all areas.

It stressed that operations will go ahead to remove the huge number of landmines planted previously by terrorists in the liberated areas in order to allow civilians to return to their homes in the region as soon as possible.

It had to happen sooner or later, the Turk plan to sever Idlib has flopped miserably. Abu Muhammad Al-Jawlaani’s plan to create a new all-Sunni Salafist Idlib nation is now at the very bottom of the abyss. American planners had better reckon with their own feckless plans to redefine the Middle East. Syria has won. Russia has won. Iran has battered all comers in a fight of the century. Technology, tactics and resilience marked this glorious day when the terrorists and their propagandists had to eat crow once and for all. I hope the dish was small and tasty.

As of this morning, Damascus time, the Syrian Army, its allies and supporters, have established full hegemony over all Hama Province for the first time since 2013. Khaan Shaykhoon, is now completely liberated. Don’t believe any of the propagandists who tell you there are “pockets of stiff resistance” in the south of the town. Don’t believe them. My source in Latakia whose wife has sent me his messages says he is there and is watching as engineers defuse explosive devices left behind by the cowering enemy in Khaan Shaykhoon itself.

Here are the towns that were liberated in both Hama and Idlib as of this morning:

I just received a report that an entire garrison of Turks has been surrounded near Al-Mawrek. With the new T-90s and their home-built Sarab 1 and 2, the Turks will find it somewhat challenging to break the siege that’s tightening around them. It is a glorious day for the SAA.

On August 23, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), the Tiger Forces and their allies fully libearated the northern Hama pocket, including the towns of Kafr Zita, Lataminah and Morek.

MORE ON THE TOPIC:
• Syrian Army Deploys Troops, Battle Tanks Meters Away From Turkish Post After Capturing Murak (Video, Map)
• Syrian army achieves decisive victory over terrorist groups in Hama and Idleb
• Syria, China Stress Need to Continue the Fight against Terrorism
• A humanitarian corridor opens in Soran (Hama countryside) for citizens to leave the areas controlled by terrorists.
• US-Backed “Qasad” Continues to Terrorize Civilians in the Syrian al-Jazira Region
• Turkification, Crimes of Killing and Kidnapping Continue in Syrian Areas Occupied by Turkish Regime

Filed under: Al Qaeda, Axis of Resistance, Erdogan, neo-Ottoman, Russia, SAA, Syria, Turkey, War on Syria | Tagged: AngloZionist Empire, Hama, Khan Sheikhoun, The Idlib Offensive, Turkification Nortth Syria, US-Turkey-Israel “Triple Alliance" | </s> Omar Haj Kadour, AFP | A picture taken with a drone shows damaged buildings in the rebel-held town of Morek, in the northern countryside of Hama province on October 13, 2018.

Syrian government forces surrounded a Turkish military observation post in the northwest on Friday after overrunning nearby areas, upping the stakes with Ankara in its Russian-backed offensive against the jihadist-ruled Idlib region.

The move angered Turkey, with Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu saying his country’s troops will not quit the observation post as Moscow said that it has agreed with Ankara to “activate mutual efforts” to ease the situation in Idlib.

The town of Morek, where the Turkish troops have been cut off, lies in the north of Hama province, part of a jihadist-ruled region centred on neighbouring Idlib province that has been under government assault since late April.

Government forces took control of Morek and other nearby towns including Kafr Zita on Friday, Syrian state news agency SANA said.

Jihadists and allied rebels withdrew from the area ahead of the army’s entry into the strategic town of Khan Sheikhun on Wednesday and government forces took control without resistance, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

“Regime forces have surrounded the Turkish observation post in Morek after capturing other towns and villages in this pocket,” said the Britain-based monitor.

Speaking at a new conference in the Lebanese capital, Cavusoglu said “our observation point there is not cut-off and nobody can isolate our forces and our soldiers.”

“We are there, not because we can’t leave but because we don’t want to leave,” he told reporters, adding that the issue was being discussed with Damascus allies Russia and Iran.

The Morek observation post, established under a deal with Moscow, is one of 12 the Turkish army set up along the front line between government forces and the jihadists and their rebel allies last year.

On Tuesday Cavusoglu vowed that the Turkish army “will do whatever is necessary” to defend these positions.

The Turkish presidency has also said that it would not abandon any of it observation posts in Syria.

The troops’ mission was to oversee the establishment of a buffer zone agreed by Ankara and Moscow in September.

But the jihadists failed to pull back from the zone as agreed and in April, government and Russian forces resumed intense bombardment of the region.

The Kremlin on Friday said that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to “activate mutual efforts” to ease the situation in Syria’s Idlib region.

“They discussed the issues of Russian-Turkish cooperation in the context of stabilisation of the de-escalation zone,” a statement said.

Erdogan is to host his Russian and Iranian counterparts for a summit in Ankara next month to discuss the latest developments.

The Turkish presidency on Friday said regime attacks in Idlib have led to a “grave humanitarian crisis”.

“These attacks damage the efforts to regulate the Syrian conflict,” it said.

The Idlib region, which sits on the Turkish border, is the last major stronghold of opposition to Syria’s Russia-backed government.

Since January, it has been ruled by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham alliance, which is led by jihadists from Syria’s former Al-Qaeda affiliate.

Other rebel groups allied with Turkey were forced to cede overall control.

On August 8, Syrian government forces launched a ground offensive with Russian support against the southern part of the rebel-held region, eyeing control of the main highway from Damascus through Idlib province to second city Aleppo.

Khan Sheikhun and Maarat al-Numan both lie along the highway.

“I see (Syrian President Bashar al-) Assad continuing his offensive as momentum is on his side, capturing more of Idlib... and securing more strategic infrastructure,” said Syria researcher Samuel Ramani.

Damascus said Thursday it will open a corridor for civilians to leave the area.

But most civilians had already fled before the pocket was cut off, according to the Observatory.

Since the end of April, more than 400,000 people have fled their homes, particularly in the south of Idlib and north Hama, the United Nations says.

Around 900 civilians have been killed, according to the Observatory.

Following a string of victories against jihadists and other rebel groups, Assad’s government now controls around 60 percent of Syrian territory.

The war in Syria has killed more than 370,000 people since it started with the brutal suppression of anti-government protests in 2011. </s> Syrian army troops seized a pocket of territory in the northwest where they had encircled rebels and a Turkish military post on Friday, reclaiming towns they lost early in the war.

Government forces pounded the south of Idlib and nearby Hama with air and ground attacks this week, pressing an offensive that has caused a new exodus. The United Nations says the escalation since late April has killed hundreds of people.

The northwest corner is all that remains in the hands of rebel factions who have suffered a string of crushing blows across Syria in the more than eight-year war.

President Bashar al-Assad has turned to the Idlib region after clawing back control of most of Syria with key help from Russia and Iran. Still, the prospect of more advances is obstructed not only by Turkey’s interests near its border but also US forces alongside Kurdish fighters in the northeast.

The latest army gains have put Turkish troops in Idlib in the firing line and threaten Ankara’s hopes of preventing a new wave of refugees on its border.

The pocket that came under state rule on Friday includes a few towns and their environs which rebels had held since the early years of the conflict.

Rebel officials did not respond to requests for comment.

The army imposed “a choking siege” on insurgents in the Hama countryside on Friday morning, state-run Ikhbariya said.

The capture of six towns and nearby hills expanded state control of a highway running through them, which stretches from the capital Damascus to Aleppo city, it added.

“The north Hama countryside is now fully safe,” the channel’s correspondent said in a live broadcast from the town of Kfar Zita. He said soldiers were searching for landmines.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said pro-government force recovered Kafr Zita, which insurgents had controlled since 2012, and some towns nearby.

The fate of a Turkish military post in one of the towns which was also encircled, Morek, remained unclear, the UK-based war monitor and state TV said.

Under its deals with Russia, Turkey has forces stationed at a dozen military posts across Idlib. Ankara backs rebel forces that control swathes of territory further north near its border, and some that have a presence in Idlib.

Moscow and Damascus say they are responding to militant attacks by the former Nusra Front, a jihadist alliance now known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham which is the dominant force in Idlib. </s> BEIRUT: Syrian government forces surrounded a Turkish military observation post in the northwest on Friday after overrunning nearby areas, upping the stakes with Ankara in its Russian-backed offensive against the jihadist-ruled Idlib region.

The move angered Turkey, with Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu saying his country’s troops will not quit the observation post as Moscow said that it has agreed with Ankara to "activate mutual efforts" to ease the situation in Idlib.

The town of Morek, where the Turkish troops have been cut off, lies in the north of Hama province, part of a jihadist-ruled region centred on neighbouring Idlib province that has been under government assault since late April. Government forces took control of Morek and other nearby towns including Kafr Zita on Friday, Syrian state news agency SANA said.

Jihadists and allied rebels withdrew from the area ahead of the army’s entry into the strategic town of Khan Sheikhun on Wednesday and government forces took control without resistance, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. "Regime forces have surrounded the Turkish observation post in Morek after capturing other towns and villages in this pocket," said the Britain-based monitor.

Speaking at a new conference in the Lebanese capital, Cavusoglu said "our observation point there is not cut-off and nobody can isolate our forces and our soldiers." "We are there, not because we can’t leave but because we don’t want to leave," he told reporters, adding that the issue was being discussed with Damascus allies Russia and Iran. The Morek observation post, established under a deal with Moscow, is one of 12 the Turkish army set up along the front line between government forces and the jihadists and their rebel allies last year.

On Tuesday Cavusoglu vowed that the Turkish army "will do whatever is necessary" to defend these positions. The Turkish presidency has also said that it would not abandon any of it observation posts in Syria. The troops’ mission was to oversee the establishment of a buffer zone agreed by Ankara and Moscow in September.

But the jihadists failed to pull back from the zone as agreed and in April, government and Russian forces resumed intense bombardment of the region. The Kremlin on Friday said that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to "activate mutual efforts" to ease the situation in Syria’s Idlib region.

"They discussed the issues of Russian-Turkish cooperation in the context of stabilisation of the de-escalation zone," a statement said. Erdogan is to host his Russian and Iranian counterparts for a summit in Ankara next month to discuss the latest developments.

The Turkish presidency on Friday said regime attacks in Idlib have led to a "grave humanitarian crisis". "These attacks damage the efforts to regulate the Syrian conflict," it said.

The Idlib region, which sits on the Turkish border, is the last major stronghold of opposition to Syria’s Russia-backed government. Since January, it has been ruled by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham alliance, which is led by jihadists from Syria’s former al-Qaeda affiliate.

Other rebel groups allied with Turkey were forced to cede overall control. On August 8, Syrian government forces launched a ground offensive with Russian support against the southern part of the rebel-held region, eyeing control of the main highway from Damascus through Idlib province to second city Aleppo.

Khan Sheikhun and Maarat al-Numan both lie along the highway. "I see (Syrian President Bashar al-) Assad continuing his offensive as momentum is on his side, capturing more of Idlib... and securing more strategic infrastructure," said Syria researcher Samuel Ramani.

Damascus said Thursday it will open a corridor for civilians to leave the area. But most civilians had already fled before the pocket was cut off, according to the Observatory. Since the end of April, more than 400,000 people have fled their homes, particularly in the south of Idlib and north Hama, the United Nations says. </s> BEIRUT, LEBANON (1:15 P.M.) – The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) recently announced that their forces were in full control of the once militant-held northern Hama pocket.

Among the areas captured by the Syrian Arab Army were the key towns of Kafr Zita and Al-Latamnah; these two towns were previously the strongholds of Jaysh Al-Izza in northern Hama.

As shown in the short video below, the Syrian Army is now inside of Kafr Zita after the remaining militants either surrendered to the military or fled to the Turkish observation post in Morek.

With these areas now clear, the Syrian Army will shift their attention to either the militant stronghold of Ma’arat Al-Nu’man or the Al-Ghaab Plain.

Currently, the Turkish military has established an unofficial observation post between Khan Sheikhoun and Ma’arat Al-Nu’man; however, the Syrian Army can attack from a different flank.

The Turkish regime has already announced that they will not withdraw from any observation post in northwestern Syria, despite being encircled by the Syrian military at the town of Morek. </s> BEIRUT: Syrian government forces surrounded a Turkish military observation post in the northwest on Friday after overrunning nearby areas, upping the stakes with Ankara in its Russian-backed offensive against Idlib region.

 The move angered Turkey, with Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu saying his country’s troops will not quit the observation post as Moscow said that it has agreed with Ankara to “activate mutual efforts” to ease the situation in Idlib.

 The town of Morek, where the Turkish troops have been cut off, lies in the north of Hama province, part of a fighter-ruled region centred on neighbouring Idlib province that has been under government assault since late April.

 Government forces took control of Morek and other nearby towns including Kafr Zita on Friday, Syrian state news agency SANA said.

 Fighters and allied rebels withdrew from the area ahead of the army’s entry into the strategic town of Khan Sheikhun on Wednesday and government forces took control without resistance, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

 “Regime forces have surrounded the Turkish observation post in Morek after capturing other towns and villages in this pocket,” said the Britain-based monitor.

 Speaking at a new conference in the Lebanese capital, Cavusoglu said, “our observation point there is not cut-off and nobody can isolate our forces and our soldiers.”

NO SECURITY

 “We are there, not because we can’t leave but because we don’t want to leave,” he told reporters, adding that the issue was being discussed with Damascus allies Russia and Iran.

 The Morek observation post, established under a deal with Moscow, is one of 12 the Turkish army set up along the front line between government forces and the fighters and their rebel allies last year.

 On Tuesday Cavusoglu vowed that the Turkish army “will do whatever is necessary” to defend these positions.

 The Turkish presidency has also said that it would not abandon any of it observation posts in Syria.

 The troops’ mission was to oversee the establishment of a buffer zone agreed by Ankara and Moscow in September. But the fighters failed to pull back from the zone as agreed and in April, government and Russian forces resumed intense bombardment of the region.

 The Kremlin on Friday said that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to “activate mutual efforts” to ease the situation in Syria’s Idlib region.

 “They discussed the issues of Russian-Turkish cooperation in the context of stabilisation of the de-escalation zone,” a statement said.

HUMANITARIAN CRISIS

 Erdogan is to host his Russian and Iranian counterparts for a summit in Ankara next month to discuss the latest developments.

 The Turkish presidency on Friday said regime attacks in Idlib have led to a “grave humanitarian crisis”.

 “These attacks damage the efforts to regulate the Syrian conflict,” it said.

 The Idlib region, which sits on the Turkish border, is the last major stronghold of opposition to Syria’s Russia-backed government.

 Since January, it has been ruled by the Hayat Tahrir al Sham alliance, which is led by fighters from Syria’s former Al Qaeda affiliate.

 Other rebel groups allied with Turkey were forced to cede overall control.

 On August 8, Syrian government forces launched a ground offensive with Russian support against the southern part of the rebel-held region, eyeing control of the main highway from Damascus through Idlib province to second city Aleppo.

 Khan Sheikhun and Maarat al Numan both lie along the highway.

 “I see (Syrian President Assad) continuing his offensive as momentum is on his side, capturing more of Idlib… and securing more strategic infrastructure,” said Syria researcher Samuel Ramani.

 Damascus said Thursday it will open a corridor for civilians to leave the area.

 But most civilians had already fled before the pocket was cut off, according to the Observatory. — AFP </s> BEIRUT, LEBANON (10:40 P.M.) – The Syrian Arab Army scored a new advance along the Hama-Idlib axis on Thursday, seizing several sites from the last jihadist rebels in the area.

According to a field report from this front, the Syrian Army began the day by capturing the hilltop of Tal Sayyed and the nearby village of Sayyed.

Following this advance, the Syrian Army would capture several other areas along the Idlib-Hama axis, including Tal Huwayz, Al-Bashir Driving School, and Wadi Al-Anz.

A source near the front-lines told Al-Masdar News that most of the militants that once controlled this area fled north before the Syrian Arab Army closed the pocket.

He added that several militants are still in the pocket, but most are situated near the Turkish Armed Forces at the observation post in the town of Morek.

Since the start of the week, the jihadist rebels have suffered several setbacks at the hands of the Syrian Army; this includes the loss of the strategic city of Khan Sheikhoun.
The Syrian Army captures the entire northern Hama-southern Idlib rebel pocket, asserting control over the strategic towns of Kafr Zita, Al-Lataminah and Murak, as well as numerous villages and an archaeological site, following the withdrawal of rebel forces.