The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) launched a fresh attack on the defenses of Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham and the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) in the northeastern countryside of Latakia on Tuesday, October 30 evening, Al-Masdar News reports.

Led by their Republican Guard forces, the Syrian Arab Army repeatedly struck the militant defenses with surface-to-surface missiles and artillery shells in the town of Kabbani.

According to a military source in Latakia city, the Syrian Arab Army targeted the militant defenses after they witnessed them raising new trenches within the designated demilitarized zone.

The militants were also seen creeping towards the Syrian Arab Army’s front-lines in the Jabal Al-Akrad region, which is where Kabbani is located.

The Syrian Arab Army has been given the green light by the Russian military to attack the militants in this area if the latter is caught fortifying the designated buffer zone.

Since both Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham and the Turkestan Islamic Party are hardline jihadist groups, the Syrian Arab Army and Russian military are closely monitoring this region in order to ensure they do not remain in the buffer zone.