BEIRUT, LEBANON (1:00 A.M.) – The jihadist rebels of Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham and their allies launched a heavy counter-assault in the northern countryside of the Hama Governorate on Monday evening.
The goal of this counter-assault was to retake all the points they lost to the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) during the day on Monday.
According to a military source near the battlefield, the jihadist rebels were able to retake the key hilltop of Tal Uthman for a short while after they overwhelmed the Syrian Army troops there; however, the HTS fighters would ultimately fall back after a swift attack by the government forces.
The source said a large number of jihadists were killed during this counter-assault after Syrian Army artillery and missiles were rained down on the attacking Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham fighters.
He would add that the jihadists will likely launch a bigger counter-attack in the next few hours as Tal Uthman is incredibly important to them; it is located along their main supply route from Kafr Naboudeh and Qal’at Al-Madiq.
In related news, some opposition pages have published the alleged names of 77 Syrian soldiers killed during Monday’s battle; these numbers and names are false, a source near the battlefront told Al-Masdar on Monday evening.
