The Syrian Army and the National Defense Forces have repelled an attack on their positions in southern Idlib.

On June 8, forces of the Ghurfat Eamaliat wa-Harid al-Mu’minin coalition of al-Qaeda-linked militant groups stormed the villages of Tanjarah and Fattirah. Militants captured the villages and reportedly killed at least 2 soldiers and destroyed a BMP vehicle. Clashes continued till the evening, when government forces finally retook the area. According to released photos and videos, at least 3 militants were killed, a vehicle and a motorcycle were also destroyed.

Pro-militant sources claimed that Syrian and Russian warplanes carried out over a dozen airstrikes on targets across the Al-Ghab Plain.

A few days earlier, Ghurfat Eamaliat wa-Harid al-Mu’minin and its allies from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which remains the most influential armed group in Idlib, deployed large reinforcements to the Zawiya Mount area.

Early on June 9, Syrian government forces shelled Hayat Tahrir al-Sham positions near Hantoteen, al-Ruwaihah and Benin.

Pro-government sources claim that several units of the 4th Armoured Division are now being deployed at this part of the contact line.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the US-led coalition finished the second part of their anti-ISIS operation on the eastern bank of the Euphrates. According to the SDF, the raids took place in at least 15 villages and 12 ISIS terrorists were detained.

Late on June 8, a rocket launched by unknown gunmen landed in the vicinity of Baghdad International Airport. The Iraqi military said that the rocket was launched from the area south of the airport and that the rocket strike caused no material damage or casualties. On the same day, reports appeared that a C-130 military transport aircraft of the US-led coalition skidded off a runway at Camp Taji. The Pentagon confirmed the incident saying that 4 people had been injured.

Usbat al-Tha’ireen, an Iraqi anti-US armed group that already claimed responsibility for several attacks on the coalition, immediately reacted to the incident by posting the message “With patience, we are victorious”.

While it remains highly unlikely that any of the recently surfaced Iraqi anti-US groups were somehow linked to the incident, they will for sure exploit the situation for their own propaganda purposes.

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