Three Syrian regime soldiers killed in clashes with opposition: report

Syrian rebels have said that they killed three regime soldiers in western Aleppo province in northern Syria.

The Syrian opposition National Liberation Front (NLF) announced that it had “blocked an infiltration attempt by Assad’s forces” on Saturday morning, near the town of Kafr Taal.

It said that three other Syrian regime troops were wounded.

Also on Saturday morning, the Turkish-backed “Syrian National Army” said that it had clashed with fighters from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) near Afrin in northwestern Syria.

Afrin was formerly under the control of Kurdish-led Syrian forces but was captured in 2018 by Turkish forces and their Syrian allies.

The “Syrian National Army” said that it had killed and injured a number of SDF fighters in the clashes without specifying their number.

Elsewhere in Syria, a child was killed when an unexploded shell launched by the regime blew up in Zaradna in northern Idlib province.

Over 500,000 people have been killed since the Syrian conflict began in 2011, when the Assad regime brutally suppressed peaceful pro-democracy protests. Most of the casualties have been as a result of regime bombardment of civilian areas.

Following initial gains by opposition forces, the Assad regime has managed to regain control of most of the country, with help from Russia and Iran, leaving Idlib and parts of Aleppo province as the last area of Syria under the control of anti-Assad rebels.

The conflict became increasingly complex after 2011, drawing in international and regional actors and Islamist extremists.