BEIRUT, August 21. /TASS/. The Syrian army attacked positions held by militants in the northern Hama Governorate in response to ceasefire violations in the northern de-escalation zone, the Al Watan newspaper reported on Monday.

According to the newspaper, artillery strikes were delivered at militant command centers and bases near Sirmaniyah, al-Ziyara, and Khirbat al-Naqus in the Orontes River valley.

Earlier, Syrian forces attacked outposts of the Jabhat al-Nusra extremist group (outlawed in Russia) in neighboring Idlib Governorate, incurring serious losses on the militants.

Syrian government forces are conducting an operation against the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization (outlawed in Russia) in eastern Syria. According to Al Watan, an IS group was eliminated in the oasis of al-Sukhnah.

On August 10, terrorists massacred 33 Syrian government soldiers caught in an ambush near the city of al-Mayadin located 368 kilometers from Damascus. Several more Syrian troops were taken prisoner and taken to militant bases in the Badiya al-Sharqiya desert.

According to the Al Hadath television channel, since the beginning of 2023, IS groups have staged more than 40 armed attacks in eastern Syria, killing 67 Syrian soldiers and militia fighters in the Deir ez-Zor Governorate, as well as 57 soldiers and 49 civilians in Raqqa.