Pro-Assad counter-offensive advances with help of bombing including chlorine and incendiary and thermobaric munitions

LATEST

  • Pro-Assad Bombing of Hospital in Idlib Province

    • MONDAY FEATURE

    Testimonies from the Bombed Convoy Near Aleppo

    Pro-Assad forces, supported by intensive Russian and regime airstrikes, completed the rollback of last month’s rebel offensive in northern Hama Province, as they recaptured the town of Souran.

    Most of the rebels withdrew after the pro-Assad ground assault — including Iranian-led militias — moved into Souran, following dozens of strikes since dawn across the area.

    “There was hysterical bombing that targeted the town and the whole area and rebels fought fierce battles until they were forced to pull out,” said a member of the Jaish al-Izza faction.

    Footage of pro-Assad attacks on Sunday:

    The rebel offensive had taken about 25 towns and villages to move within 5 km (3 miles) of both Hama, Syria’s 4th-largest city, and its airport. But the Russian and regime bombing — including chlorine and incendiary munitions, with strikes on vital infrastructure such as hospitals — began to reverse the battle.

    Thermobaric bombs dropped on Latamneh on Sunday and incendiary munitions used overnight:

    The rebels were also hindered between the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham bloc and the leading faction Ahrar al-Sham, which blocked the latter from joining the main assault near Hama city.

    The rebels still hold strategic positions from earlier offensives, such as the town of Morek on the Hama-to-Aleppo highway. They are also holding out against weeks of pro-Assad air and ground attacks on the town of Halfaya.

    The rebels fired scores of rockets on the Hama military airport on Sunday, with videos showing smoke rising from the complex.

    TOP PHOTO: Bombing with incendiary munitions of Latamneh in northern Hama Province

    Pro-Assad Bombing of Hospital in Idlib Province

    Pro-Assad, Russian-made warplanes have bombed another hospital, the Shnan maternity and children’s facility in Jabal al-Zawiya in Idlib Province.

    The “double tap” attack, targeting those who responded to the first strike, wounded a White Helmets volunteer and knocked the hospital out of service.

    Russian and regime warplanes have systematically targeted health care facilities and staff, damaging or destroying scores of facilities, especially in northwest Syria.

    IDLIB BOMBED HOSPITAL 17-04-17