After more than 3 months of entering the area, northeast of Hama witnesses the first round of clashes between the regime forces and the “Islamic State” organization

The northeastern countryside of Hama witnessed clashes in the past few hours, between the regime forces supported by the gunmen loyal to them of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities against members of the “Islamic State” organization, in areas in the northeast countryside of Hama, and SOHR monitored clashes which are the first of their kind between both parties in this area, after more than 3 months of the arrival of ISIS to this area via regime’s areas, and bringing hundreds of fighters from the desert via regime’s areas, and the clashes were accompanied by artillery and rocket shelling between both parties.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored the regime forces controlling a village and a hill used to be controlled by the “Islamic State” organization in the northeastern countryside of Hama, in which the organization is in control of about 45 villages since 9 October 2017, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored back in October 2017 the arrival of military reinforcements to the organization of hundreds of fighters heavily armed with equipment and supplies of heavy vehicles and heavy and light weapons in the north-eastern countryside of Hama, and sources reported that they came from the Syrian Desert that is controlled by the regime forces, in which these members carried out wide attack on the positions of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham in the area immediately after their arrival.

It should be noted that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on the 9th of October 2017, that the “Islamic State” organization crossed by vehicles with medium and heavy weapons and reached areas controlled by Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham, where the organization started attacking areas controlled by Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham and managed to advance quickly and abruptly, and took control of about 15 villages, followed by a violent counterattack by Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham in which it regained to re-control about 5 villages, while Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham brought military reinforcements of members and vehicles, in order to continue the attack and recover the entire lost areas as well as arresting the organization’s members who carried out the attack, and information about casualties in the ranks of both parties as a result of these clashes, which were accompanied by exchange of shelling, also SOHR received information about capturing members of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham by the organized during its control of a village, and information about carrying out executions by the organization against prisoners of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham, where the sources confirmed that the “Islamic State” Organization has reneged the agreement between it and between Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham earlier, and that their families of children, women, young men and non-fighter men will be entered to the areas controlled by the factions, and that members of organization are prevented from entering, and any member or fighter of the organization who may enter will be either captured or killed.