BEIRUT, LEBANON (10:00 P.M.) – The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) did not waste much time after capturing the strategic city of Saraqib to make a push towards the northern region of the Idlib Governorate.

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According to a field report on Thursday, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) captured the town of Afas to secure Saraqib’s northern perimeter and begin positioning their forces along the road leading the city of Taftanaz and its corresponding airport.

The report said the Syrian Army has begun attacking the jihadist positions along the road, while also targeting the latter’s defenses near the city of Ariha, which is to the west of Saraqib.

Ariha was lost in the Summer of 2015, while Taftanaz’s airport was one of the first major airbase’s to be captured by the jihadist rebels in 2012.

The Taftanaz Airport has turned into one of the largest jihadist bases in the Idlib Governorate, with groups like Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) occupying much of the installation.