U.S. coalition strikes new target in Syria

 

• U.S.-led anti-terror coalition struck new positions of the jihadist groups in Syria's Idlib on Thursday.

•The U.S. strikes targeted for the first time a position of the Ahrar al-Sham movement near al-Hawa border.

• U.S. coalition started their strikes against the Islamic State (IS) militant group late in September.

DAMASCUS, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-led anti-terror coalition struck new positions of the jihadist groups in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib on Thursday, a monitoring group reported.

The U.S. strikes targeted for the first time a position of the Ahrar al-Sham movement near al-Hawa border crossing between Idlib and Turkey, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, adding that the strikes also targeted a position of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front in Idlib, amid reports of losses and casualties.

The U.S. coalition started their strikes against the Islamic State (IS) militant group late in September, but Thursday's attack marked the first one against other terrorist groups in Syria.

Ahrar al-Sham is a coalition of Islamist and Salafist units which formed into a brigade during the Syrian crisis to fight against the administration of President Bashar al-Assad. As of July 2013, the group had about 10,000 to 20,000 fighters, making it one of the most powerful units fighting against Assad.

The militant group operates under the umbrella of the Syrian Islamic Front, a coalition of six powerful Islamist movements.

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