A surprising and violent attack by the factions on positions of the regime forces near the border with Iskenderun leaves 14 casualties of the regime forces and forces the latter to retreat
Latakia Province – The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: the northern mountains of Latakia are witnessing intensive explosions accompanied by heavy gunfire, caused by a military operation in the area, and in the details monitored by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights; the fighters of the rebel and Islamic factions carried out a surprising and violent attack on Otayrah area which is controlled by the regime forces at Jabal Zahya, near the border with Iskenderun, where the Syrian Observatory monitored violent clashes which is still taking place between the regime forces and gunmen loyal to them against the rebel and Islamic factions, in an attempt by the factions, which launched their attack from the area of Tell Nawwarah, to achieve advancement in the area and inflect human losses in the ranks of the regime forces and their allies.
Intersected sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, that the factions managed through their surprising attack to achieve advancement, and force the regime forces to withdraw from positions used to be under their control in Otayrah area, while the clashes were accompanied by intensive exchange of targeting in the clash areas between the both parties, which resulted in the fall of human losses in the ranks of the both parties, where the SOHR documented the death of 14 members at least of the regime forces and gunman loyal to them, in addition to the injury of others with varying severity, while members of the factions were killed and injured in the same circumstances.
And the Syrian Observatory published on the 3rd of June 2018, that it monitored explosions that shook areas in the Latakia mountains in the northern countryside of the city, caused by raids by warplanes on places in Kabbaneh area in Jabal al-Akrad in the northern countryside of Latakia, but no information about casualties until the moment, this comers after more than 30 days of absence from the area, where warplanes were the warplanes last targeted the area on the 2nd of May 2018, where this aerial targeting comes in the wake of attacks by Hurras al-Dien faction on Saturday, on sites of the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them in Ard al-Wata area in Jabal al-Akrad, where violent clashes took place between both parties, accompanied by exchange of targeting between the regime and the faction of Hurras al-Dien, which defected previously from Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham which swore allegiance to al-Qaida, which in late April 2018 had carried out with its allied factions attacks against the regime forces in the northern countryside of Hama, also Latakia mountains witnessed during the past days and weeks missile and artillery shelling by the regime forces and the factions, these successive targeting have caused casualties, where the Syrian Observatory documented the death of 6 fighters at least of the factions operating in the Latakia mountains, they were killed in the shelling that took place on the 28th of May 2018, in addition to the fall of casualties in the ranks of the regime forces during factions’ targeting for their positions and the positions of the gunmen loyal to them, also these mountains have witnessed attacks by factions that killed at least 11 members of the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them, including a lieutenant, after a sudden and violent attack by fighters of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham and other factions operating in the northern countryside of Latakia, targeting sites of the regime forces in Tal Rashu area in the northern mountains of Latakia, also the attack that took place dawn of the 20th of April 2018, had injured members and officers of the regime forces with varying severity.