The Syrian Arab Army’s Special Operations unit “Al-Qawat Al-Nimr” (Tiger Forces) successfully secured all axes surrounding the imperative village of Al-Mastouma on Thursday; however, upon advancing to Al-Qameenas, they were reportedly ordered to not press past the outskirts of the village.
There have been mixed messages regarding this offensive, with a number of media outlets and social media activists declaring different objectives and the overstatement of gains.
A military source in the Idlib Governorate confirmed that operations are still ongoing, but he is not able to reveal intel due to security concerns.
As of right now, the militants from the Syrian Al-Qaeda group “Jabhat Al-Nusra” and their allies from Jaysh Al-Fatah have full control over Faylan, despite the National Defense Forces (NDF) brief offensive into this village.
Reports that Colonel Suheil Al-Hassan of the Tiger Forces arriving in Idlib have been confirmed as false; he is still at Jabal Al-Sha’ar in east Homs – Sergeant Lu’ayy Sleitan is commanding the Tiger Forces in Idlib.
The Syrian Arab Air Force (SAAF) continued its powerful aerial bombardments of the rebel strongholds at Saraqib, Binnish, Kafr Nabl, Ma’arat Nu’man, and Idlib City on Thursday, launching over 40 airstrikes in 24 hours.