Fighting kills 26 in Syria’s northwest

BEIRUT: Clashes between Syrian regime forces and jihadists Monday killed more than 26 fighters in the country's northwest, which has seen an escalation in shelling and air strikes, a monitor said.Eleven pro-government fighters were among those killed in fierce fighting in the northern countryside of Hama province, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Fifteen jihadists, including members of Al-Qaeda's former Syrian branch, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), and its ally the Turkistan Islamic Party, were also killed, the war monitor said. The fighting came as regime forces advanced on two villages and a strategic hilltop in the region, it said. State news agency SANA said Syrian troops launched "intensive operations," targeting supply lines and areas where armed groups operate in northern Hama and neighbouring Idlib. The region held by HTS has faced intensifying bombardment in the past month, prompting a new wave of displacement.On Monday, four civilians were killed in shelling and air strikes on Idlib and neighbouring areas by the Syrian government and its ally Russia, said the Observatory. An AFP photographer in Idlib saw several houses completely destroyed by recent attacks.

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