Powerful Hayat Tahrir al-Sham alliance launched a surprise attack on a village in eastern Hama countryside late on Monday, killing 9 forces from regime army and allied militia, activists said.
Local sources from the village of Taldara near Salamiyah town said regime forces and National Defense paramilitary group have thwarted the attack, killing at least 3 fighters from the former al-Qaeda group in Syria.
Salamiyah, the capital of eastern Hama has been suffering of a series of attacks by the Islamic State and the formerly known as Nusra Front. The area is dominated by the Ismaili sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam and one of the abandoned districts by the Assad regime.
In retaliation, regime warplanes have pounded the northeastern towns of Homs province. Yet, no casualties have been reported.
