Islam Times - Syrian Army’s Idlib Liberation Op Back on Track

Islam Times - Syrian army has deployed Tiger Forces to the eastern countryside of the Idlib as the Russia-Turkey deal to establish a demilitarized in the northern province has failed to achieve its aims so far.

Major General Suheil Al-Hassan, commander of the Tiger Forces, reportedly arrived at the Abu Dhuhour Airbase in eastern Idlib on Thursday morning after receiving orders from the Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) High Command to deploy to this front.

The Tiger Forces commander reportedly toured the battlefield around the eastern Idlib front along with the commander of the 5th Corps.

According to a military source in Damascus, the Syrian Arab Army’s offensive in east Idlib is back on for now, after militant groups have refused moving out from the demilitarized region

Under a deal reached between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Sochi on September 17, all militants in the demilitarized zone, which surrounds Idlib and also parts of the adjacent provinces of Aleppo and Hama, must pull out heavy arms by Wednesday, and Takfiri groups must withdraw by October 15.

The agreement has so far held off a government offensive on Idlib, the last major terrorist stronghold in Syria.

If the militants refuse to withdraw from the buffer zone in the coming days, then the Syrian Arab Army will launch their long-awaited operation in the eastern countryside of the Idlib Governorate.

The Syrian Army has already begun military exercises near the Idlib front-lines, with their air force conducting several reconnaissance flights over the jihadist positions.