The following report is republished from Southfront:
Not only is the so-called “moderate opposition” in Idlib not content with adhering to the ceasefire agreement, but militants also move outward to carry out attacks against the Damascus government.
On the morning of August 4th, a shuttle bus of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) blew up at the gate of the Republican Guard Residences in the northern part of Damascus.
Initially, the official version was that a short circuit caused the incident, but later Al-Qaeda-affiliated Horas al-Din claimed responsibility for the deadly explosion.
The terrorist group based in Greater Idlib and working under Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) said that it carried out the attack in support of Daraa’s former rebels.
HTS provided mixed signals, with one propagandist claiming that Horas al-Din don’t even join the fight on the Idlib frontlines, while a commander praised the attack “behind enemy lines.”
In Greater Idlib, SAA and the HTS-led terrorists and Turkish-backed factions are engaged in a shelling escalation, with drones added to the mix.
On August 1st, a militant home-made UAV was shot down over the town of Kafr-Nabl in Idlib governorate. It was reportedly launched from the village of Al-Bara and was aimed at searching for targets and adjusting artillery fire.
On the next day, another drone was targeted with the Syrian Buk-M2E air defense system in the Al-Eis area in the southern countryside of Aleppo, it was likely a Turkish-made UAV.
Then, on August 3rd, a Russian-made Forpost UAV was shot down near the town of Kafr Nuran in Aleppo governorate. It carried out its mission before being shot down – a vehicle was struck with precision-guided munitions in the town of Kafr Nuran.
At the same time, the SAA and Turkish-backed factions continue the artillery shelling exchange in both Idlib and Aleppo governorates.
Not too far from Aleppo, a civilian man and three of his children were killed as a result of Turkish shelling on the northern countryside of Raqqa in northeastern Syria.
Joining in on the “fun” over Aleppo is the US, which had one of its MQ-4C Triton high-altitude long endurance surveillance drones shot down by SAA. It is yet unclear if it was, in fact, a US-made drone, but footage points in that direction.
While all of this is happening in Northeastern Syria, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are trying to fight ISIS, with regularly having their positions attacked by terrorist cells.
On top of that, they are constantly subject to shelling from the Turkish Armed Forces and the Ankara-backed factions.
The situation in Greater Idlib and Northeastern Syria continues to be heavily contested and no side gives quarter.