syrian arab army
Soldiers of the Syrian Arab Army
On October 9, the Syrian army and the National Defense Forces (NDF) continued operations in northern Hama amid the ongoing infighting among various terrorist groups in the area. After securing Qarah, Khafseen, Ash Sha'ta, Tulaysiyah, Qahira and Umm Turaykiyah, the army and the NDF advanced in the direction of Tamat al-Khalifah, Qubaybat Abu al-Huda and Kubbariyah. The strategic local town of Ma'an remains the main goal of the ongoing counter-offensive by the pro-government forces.

Even the liberation of all these areas will not allow the army and the NDF to reverse all gains that had been made by the joint forces of Ahrar al-Sham, Jund al-Aqsa. the Free Syrian Army and Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra) in the province. However, the ongoing counter-offenisve is setting a ground for stabilization of the situation in Hama. This goal is also important amid the ongoing operations in Aleppo.

Syria war homs october 2016