Militants are teaming up under the leadership of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formerly known as Al-Nusra front, in the south of the Syrian Idlib de-escalation zone presumably to launch an offensive on the city of Hama, the Russian Defense Ministry’s Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides said on Saturday.

“According to the available data, in recent days, in the areas of the settlements of Ltamenah and Kafr Zita, located in the south of the Idlib de-escalation zone, militant groups of various illegal armed formations are concentrating and uniting under the command of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group. It could not be ruled out they are creating shock troops, the probable target of which could be an attack on the city of Hama,” the centre’s spokesperson said at a briefing.

Previously, the head of Russia’s Reconciliation Centre in Syria said that militant groups acting in the Idlib de-escalation zone haven’t ceased their attempts to attack Russia’s Hmeimim base and Syrian government troops, adding that the terrorists attempted to shell Hmeimim airbase using multiple-launch rocket systems as well as drones twelve times over the past month.

Source: Sputnik