The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and their allies from the National Defense Forces (NDF) unleashed a flurry of missiles towards the northern countryside of the Hama Governorate, Al-Masdar News reports.

The Syrian army’s 11th Tank Division reportedly fired a half dozen missiles towards the town of Zakat, which has long been a stronghold for Jaysh Al-Izza.

According to a military source in Hama, the missile barrage was launched in response to Jaysh Al-Izza’s shelling of the government-held town of Mhardeh near the Islamist front-lines.

With the Turkish army now present in northern Hama, the likelihood of a government ground offensive against the Islamist rebels in this area is very slim.