Syria Captures Critical Khan Sheikhun Town
The Syrian army on Wednesday, August 21st completely seized the pivotal Khan Sheikhun town northwestern the country, laying siege to Turkish troops at an observation post close by, AFP quoted a war monitor.
“Regime forces took full control of the town of Khan Sheikhun and are currently clearing it of mines,” said Syrian Observatory for Human Rights chief Rami Abdel Rahman.
Syrian forces have now “surrounded an area stretching from the south of Khan Sheikhun into northern Hama province, cutting off all roads out” for Turkish troops in the nearby town of Morek, he said.
Twenty-one terrorists, including 18 jihadists, and 10 pro-state soldiers died in Wednesday’s fighting.
The commencing of a major offensive against insurgents and jihadists in control of Idlib, terrorists’ last stronghold, preceded the seizure.
President Bashar al-Assad is a Russian ally.
In January, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham alliance, which is led by jihadists from Syria’s former Al-Qaeda affiliate, took control of Idlib.
A buffer zone agreement between Russia and terrorists-ally Turkey signed in September 2018 was annulled when Syrian and Russian forces shelled the region in September, leaving 890 civilians dead according to the Britain-based Observatory.
The United Nations says the fighting has also uprooted some 400,000 people.