At least 33 pro-regime fighters were killed Sunday (March 3rd) in attacks mounted by extremist groups near Syria's Idlib province, AFP reported.
Twenty-seven fighters were killed in two attacks by Ansar al-Tawhid, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, with Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman reporting that five extremists also had been killed.
Ansar al-Tawhid has ties to Hurras al-Din, a larger group which also is active in north-west Syria, both of which are linked to al-Qaeda.
Idlib and parts of the adjacent provinces of Hama and Aleppo are mostly controlled by the rival Tahrir al-Sham, led by fighters who formerly belonged to al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front (ANF).
The attacks by Ansar al-Tawhid were carried out against regime positions in Masasna, a village in Hama province, the Observatory said.
In Latakia province, at least six pro-regime fighters were killed in attacks by Tahrir al-Sham later on Sunday, the Observatory said.
