Terrorists attempted to carry out chemical attack in Saraqib amid Syrian army gains: Reconciliation center

The Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Sides in Syria says a group of foreign-sponsored Takfiri militants sought to explode several containers with toxic substances in the strategic Saraqib city of the country’s northwestern province of Idlib in a bid to incriminate Syrian government forces as a pretext for possible acts of aggression on army troops.

“In an effort to frustrate the advance of Syrian government forces in the western quarters of Saraqeb, a group of up to 15 terrorists tried on March 2 to detonate high-explosive ammunition along with tanks filled with toxic chemicals,” the center announced in a statement released on Wednesday.

West funding White Helmets, helping them in propaganda campaign against Syria: Top Russian official

A senior Russian official says Western intelligence services are financing the so-called civil defense group White Helmets, helping its propaganda campaign against Syria.

The statement added, “As the terrorists weren’t proficient enough in handling toxic substances, one of the tanks leaked, inflicting casualties among the attackers themselves who received severe chemical poisoning, having failed to blow up the charges.”

The report came only two days after Syrian army soldiers and their allies entered Saraqib after violent clashes with extremists there, and severely hitting their positions and fortification lines.

Syrian govt. forces recapture key northwestern city from Turkish-backed militants

Syrian government forces recapture the strategic city of Saraqib in the northwestern Idlib province.

Saraqib has a strategic significance as it overlooks the 450-kilometer-long M5 highway.

The M5 highway starts in southern Syria, near the border with Jordan, and runs all the way north to the city of Aleppo near the Turkish border. 

Since 2012, the M5 had been controlled by various foreign-backed militant groups. Syrian government forces started regaining parts of the highway in 2014, but they were only able to take full control during the latest offensive. 

Syrian army troops and their allies established control over the highway on February 10 after dealing heavy blows to Takfiris south and west of Aleppo.

The Damascus government began road repair shortly afterwards, and the Syrian Ministry of Transport announced on February 22 that the highway was officially open to traffic and “at the full disposal of citizens.”

Earlier on Wednesday, the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Sides in Syria stated that members of the so-called civil defense group White Helmets had finished filming a false-flag chemical attack against civilians in the Zerbah settlement of the Idlib de-escalation zone.

White Helmets, Takfiri militants preparing false-flag chemical attacks in Syria’s Idlib, Russia warns

Russia warns that the so-called White Helmets and Takfiri HTS terrorists are preparing to carry out a false-flag chemical attack in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib.

“The video shows the purported consequences of a Syrian Air Force attack involving some unidentified chemical weapons. Alleged human victims with symptoms of intoxication can be seen on the video in thick yellow smoke,” the center added.

It further highlighted that White Helmets are now disseminating the fake video on social media platforms in order to be broadcast by Western and Arab media outlets.

Separately, Syria's state-run al-Ikhbariyah Syria television news network reported that Syrian army units had managed to thwart a militant assault on Shansharah archaeological site in the southern countryside of Idlib province.

Syrian government forces also destroyed a number of vehicles belonging to foreign-backed Takfiri militants on the road linking the villages of al-Bara and Kansafra.

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