A Syrian jihadist group linked to al-Qaida killed 21 regime and allied forces Sunday near Idlib province, in one of the deadliest breaches of a six-month-old truce deal, a monitor said.
"At dawn, 21 fighters from the regime forces or allied militia were killed in an attack by Ansar al-Tawhid jihadists," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
"Five jihadists were also killed," Rami Abdel Rahman, the director of the Britain-based monitoring group, said.
Ansar al-Tawhid has ties to the larger Hurras al-Deen group, which is also active in the area. Both are considered semi-officials franchises of al-Qaida in Syria.
The area of Idlib and small parts of the adjacent provinces of Hama and Aleppo are mostly controlled by the rival Hayat Tahrir al-Sham organization.
HTS is led by fighters who formerly belonged to al-Qaida's ex-affiliate in Syria.