Jihadist capture of Kafr Naboudeh proves incredibly costly as death toll is estimated over 120

The jihadist rebels scored an important advance in the northwestern countryside of the Hama Governorate this week, as their forces managed to retake the key town of Kafr Naboudeh from the Syrian Arab Army (SAA).

However, this advance by the jihadists of Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham and the Turkish-backed rebels would prove incredibly costly as their forces lost well over 100 fighters in 72 hours.

According to a military source in the Hama Governorate, the jihadists and their Turkish-backed rebel allies lost an estimated 120-150 fighters, with the majority of them being Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham militants.

The pro-opposition Syrian Observatory of Human Rights (SOHR) admitted greater losses for the jihadist rebels. The SOHR claimed that over 215 militants were killed during this offensive.

The reason for the high death toll for the militant groups was likely due to their style of attack during the battle. Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham would send wave after wave of fighters towards the Syrian Army’s defenses in a bid to overwhelm their forces. Eventually, they were able to break the Syrian Army’s lines, but not before losing many fighters in the process.

The Syrian Army also suffered heavy casualties during the attack, but their losses in comparison are half of what was reported for the jihadist groups. Most of the Syrian Army’s losses came during Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham’s first assault on Kafr Naboudeh. While they managed to repel the first attack, their defenses had already been fractured by the jihadists; this resulted in the fall of Kafr Naboudeh later in the day.

While they control Kafr Naboudeh at this time, the jihadist rebels will likely continue to suffer casualties at the hands of the Syrian Army and their allies. The reason for this is due to the ongoing bombardment by the Syrian military and the Russian Air Force. This bombardment has been incredibly costly for the jihadist troops who have been exposed to nonstop artillery and air strikes for several days now.

Source: Jihadist capture of Kafr Naboudeh proves incredibly costly as death toll is estimated over 120