TASS, June 8. Syrian government forces repelled militants’ attack on a settlement in the southern part of the Idlib de-escalation zone, Alexander Shcherbitsky, chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria, said on Monday.
"On June 8, militants of the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group (outlawed in Russia) tried to capture the settlement of Tanjar in the southern part of the Idlib de-escalation zone," he said.
According to Shcherbitsky, the militants breached the defense to a depth of 600 meters. "The attack was repelled by retaliatory artillery and aviation fire. Government troops recaptured their positions at the defensive line," he said, adding that more than 30 militants were either killed or wounded and three pickup trucks with heavy machineguns were destroyed.
He also said that one settlement in the Idlib governorate and one settlement in the Aleppo governorate came under shelling by Jabhat al-Nusra militants during the day. No shelling attacks by Turkey-controlled armed groups were reported in Syria’s Idlib de-escalation zone during the past day," he said.
The Russian reconciliation center continues to fulfill assigned tasks after the completion of the military campaign in Syria. The center’s officers regularly travel around the country's liberated areas to assess the humanitarian situation. The main efforts of the Russian military are now focused on assistance to the refugees returning to their homes and evacuation of civilians from de-escalation zones.