Latest developments in Syria

The area surrounding the M4 international highway is still witnessing developments as Al sham Liberation Headquarters (formerly known as Al Nusra Front) continues to block the road preventing Russian patrols from passing, in exchange for Turkish attempts to avoid direct clashes to open the road in implementation of the agreement signed between Presidents Erdogan and Putin.

Al sham Liberation Headquarters posted an explanation via Turkish language about the recently released videos of its fighters threatening the Turkish army with killing and “beheading”.

Al sham Liberation Headquarters post that published in its own media outlet, and was reported by many Syrian opposition media outlets, that the threats made by the fighters are invalid, and their actions are morally and religiously rejected.

The statement stressed that Al sham Liberation Headquarters started searching for people appearing in the videos and its groups, to know their motives and investigate them.

Al sham Liberation Headquarters stated that the Turkish army is a partner in the Syrian revolution war against the Syrian regime and its allies, and that they fought in one trench with them, shedding their blood in defense of the liberated lands, according to the description of the statement.

The Turkish riot police had tried to break up a sit-in behind the Al sham Liberation Headquarters on the international road M4 between Saraqib and Jisr Al Shughur to prevent the implementation of the Russian-Turkish agreement by passing patrols.

Elements of Al sham Liberation Headquarters and its activists have threatened Russian forces with targeting if patrols of them pass from the road.

In eastern Syria, there was another different development that represented the defection of elements belonging to the Maghaweir Al Thawrah “commandos of the revolution” with their weapons and military equipment in the area of ​​Al Tanf, which is under US control, and a group of 25 elements affiliated with the faction defected, and entered the area controlled by the Syrian army.

These forces are considered to belong to the US forces and are charged with guarding the 55th area surrounding the US base on the Syrian-Iraqi border.

The defection operation took place, according to sources after midnight last Tuesday, led by Ghanem Samir Al Khudair, known as “Abu Hamza”, leader of one of the groups in the the Maghaweir Al Thawrah “commandos of the revolution”.

Sources said that the group managed to defect and leave the vicinity of the US base at Al Tanf and enter the areas controlled by the Syrian army, with them eight “pickups”, five machine guns, signal devices, a number of RPGs, three snipers, weapons, assorted bombs and binoculars.

The head of the Russian Reconciliation Center of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Oleg Goralev, announced that 27 gunmen surrendered to the Syrian authorities, and they gave evidence that they had received training by US trainers, to carry out attacks and sabotage on oil and gas sites as well as the infrastructure of sites under the control of the Syrian army.

An estimated 500 guerrillas guerrillas are in the Al Tanf area, with about 500 fighters, in addition to 300 others from the auxiliary forces to protect the US base in Al Tanf.

To the south of Syria, ISIS claimed responsibility for killing and wounding five Syrian soldiers, including an officer, in Daraa countryside.

According to a statement of the ISIS “Amak”, the organization’s fighters opened fire on a military vehicle near the town of Izraa, north of Daraa.

ISIS “Amak” agency reported that the targeting resulted in the killing and wounding of five members, one of whom was an officer, and damaging their vehicle.