On January 11, so-called “moderate opposition” groups operating in Idlib declared an official start of the operation to assist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda) in its effort to counter the ongoing advance of government forces in the area of Abu al-Duhur.
Faylaq al-Sham, Nour al-Din al-Zenki, Jaish al-Nasr, Jaish al-Nukhba, Ahrar al-Sham, the Turkistan Islamic Party, the Free Syrian Army’s 2nd Army were among the group that joined the battle on the side of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. Furthermore, Faylaq al-Sham actively used Turkish-supplied military vehicle against government forces.
The militants attacked positions of the Tiger Forces and the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) southwest of Abu al-Duhur and event entered a number of the government-held villages, including Astshan, Khuwaya, Sahal, Tell Maraq, Ard az ZurZur and Um Khalakhil. However, by the evening, the militants’ counter-attack had slowed down and they retreated from almost all captured positions.
According to pro-militant sources, HTS and its allies killed over 20 SAA members and captured about 50 others as well as destroyed a BMP armoured vehicle and captured a battle tank belonging to the army.