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On April 16, airstrikes destroyed two vehicles of Jaysh al-Nasir and the 1st Coastal Division in the town of al-Enkawi on the contact line in northwestern Hama. According to local sources, 3 militants were killed and 3 others were injured in the strikes.

Some opposition sources claimed that the strikes were conducted by an Iranian unmanned combat aerial vehicle, while others said the drone was Russian. In the past several years, opposition sources repeatedly speculated that the Russian military was testing Kalashnikov KUB-BLA loitering munitions in Syria.

On April 15, the Syrian Army eliminated Abu al-Walid Tell Hadya, a prominent field commander of the Turkish-backed National Front for Liberation (NFL), in a rocket strike on the town of Maarbalit in southern Idlib. Both Jaysh al-Nasir and the 1st Coastal Division are also parts of the NFL.

A large explosion rocked the Turkish-occupied village of al-Ahras in the northern part of al-Hasakah province. The car bomb, which exploded just near a joint position of the Turkish Army and Turkish-backed militants, reportedly killed and injured several Turkish personnel. Following the incident, Turkish troops carried out a raid in the village detaining several civilians.

Over the past months, there have been dozens of IED and car bomb attacks within the Turkish-occupied part of Syria. Turkish sources often blame Kurdish armed groups for these attacks, but provide no evidence to confirm these claims. At the same time, ISIS cells are also active in the area.

A group of former ISIS commanders met in the town of Tell Abyad in northern Raqqa under the protection of Turkish-backed forces, according to media reports. ISIS members reportedly cooperate with the al-Shamiya Front, a faction of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army. The town is reportedly filled with graffiti supporting the terrorist group.

Local sources speculate that former ISIS members will be employed by Turkish intelligence to stage terrorist attacks and provocations against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and the Syrian Army.

On the morning of April 16, patriotic civilians and Syrian Army members intercepted a convoy of the U.S.-led coalition and forced it to withdraw near the village of Tell Hamis in al-Hasakah province. This became the fifth such incident in the past few weeks. Earlier, US forces had repeatedly blocked movement of the Syrian Army and the Russian Military Police in the province. Now, they are passing through a similar experience.

Unknown militants ambushed a vehicle of the Syrian Army on the road between the villages of Izraa and Buser al-Harir in the province of Daraa. At least 3 soldiers were killed and 2 others were injured. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, yet. ISIS cells are known to be active in Daraa, especially in the governorate’s northern and eastern countryside. Furthermore, some supporters of radical Idlib armed groups are still active in this part of the country.

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