Last year, the Syrian Arab Army’s 106th Brigade of the Republican Guard – backed by the Tiger Forces and the National Defense Forces (NDF) from Mhardeh – recaptured the strategic city of Morek inside the Hama Governorate’s northern countryside after a large-scale counter-offensive to recover several sites from the Syrian Al-Qaeda group “Jabhat Al-Nusra”.

Despite their success at the cities of Halfaya, Taybat Al-Imam, and Morek, the Syrian Armed Forces were unable to recapture the towns of Al-Lataminah, Kafr Zita, Latmeen, Kafr Naboudeh, and Khan Sheikhoun; this left their northern Hama pocket at risk of attack by the Islamist rebels of Jabhat Al-Nusra, the Free Syrian Army (FSA), and Liwaa Suqour Al-Sham.

On Wednesday morning, the Syrian Arab Army’s 87th Brigade of the 11th Tank Division (unit that now handles northern Hama) – in coordination with Hezbollah and the National Defense Forces – cleared the buildings on the outskirts of Morek and reclaimed the entire road to the city that the Islamist rebels have used to harass the Syrian Armed Forces.

While the Syrian Armed Forces are no longer on the offensive in northern Hama, the security of the road leading to Morek is imperative to defending the city from the imminent militant assault that is bound to begin in the coming days.