MESOP FLASH : Syria regime hit by Hama “tank massacre”

BEIRUT – The Syrian regime’s massive offensive in northern Hama has suffered an initial setback after a number of armored vehicles were destroyed in a melee of anti-tank guided missile fire that activist media dubbed a “tank massacre.”  The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights reported that rebel fighters in the north Hama region had met the joint Russian-Syrian assault by targeting the attacking regime forces on the ground “with US-made TOW missiles… [and] other guided rockets, which caused the destruction… of over 15 armored cars, vehicles and tanks.”

The Syrian regime on Wednesday launched an offensive backed by intense Russian airstrikes along four axes of attacks starting from a line of government-controlled positions approximately 25-kilometers north of Hama. The offensive aims to push back a rebel salient dipping toward Hama, with government forces aiming to seize the town of Lataminah in the southernmost section of the rebel lines.  Meanwhile, an attack was also launched further to the east to take Khan Sheikhoun as well as the Latamin and Sayyad heights, while another aimed for Atshan, and yet another further to the west set the town of Kafr Nabudah as a goal.