It did not take long for the Syrian Armed Forces to capitalize on the Syrian Al-Qaeda group “Jabhat Al-Nusra’s” poor frontline defenses near the strategic town of Zayzoun, as soldiers from the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and National Defense Forces (NDF) surprised the enemy combatants with another night assault in the Idlib Governorate’s countryside.
The small offensive near Zayzoun was led by the Syrian Arab Army’s “Tiger Forces” and the 87th Brigade of the 11th Tank Division, while under the direct command of Colonel Suheil Al-Hassan (Tiger Forces) and Captain Lu’ayy Al-Sleitan (Tiger Forces); this assault was conducted at night to evade the powerful anti-tank TOW missiles used by the western-backed Islamist militias.
With dusk descending over the Idlib Governorate, the Tiger Forces – in coordination with the 87th Brigade, the National Defense Forces (NDF) and the 45th Regiment of the 1st Armored Division – overpowered Jabhat Al-Nusra and Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham militants at Tal Sahhan, Al-Zayadiyah, and Sarareef after a series of firefights at these hills and villages near the city of Jisr Al-Shughour.
The Syrian Armed Forces capture of Tal Sahhan is perhaps the most important hill they seized control of in the Idlib countryside because this area was used by the western-backed Islamist militants to fire their anti-tank TOW missiles on Syrian Arab Army tanks that operate along the rugged terrain.