After securing the Hill 45, the NDF was celebrating too much, then the insurgents claimed to have launched a counterattack and recaptured the place (see reports like this one). Furthermore, the insurgents should be on advance in direction of ruins of ancient city of Ugarit. CO of the IF, Zahran Aloush, is kind of 'promising' further advances (as can be read here).

Seems that something serious has happened there, then there are reports about 'delays' in hand-out of regime's CWs. That might mean that Moscow/Tehran/Damascus are using regime's CWs as a sort of 'deterrent' for the case of further insurgent advance into Lattakiya. Certainly, even Assad is stressing that the 'Battle in Lattakiya' is 'existential', and is hinting about possible use of CWs there (as can be read here, in Arabic).

The SyAAF is still targeting insurgent HQs in this area, and there are claims it killed three additional insurgent and/or Jihadist COs, including:

- Abu Muhajer, aka Ana al-Helwa (CO Ahrar ash-Sham)
- Ibrahim Ibn Shakran (CO Harakat Sham al-Islam)
- Abu Safiya al-Masry (XO Harakat Sham al-Islam)
- another, unknown JAN CO

Except for local units, the NDF now has elements of the former 11th AD and the Desert Falcons Special Forces Regiment in this part of Lattakiya Province. These have apparently fired six rockets into Turkey too: the Turkish military hit back with artillery, yesterday.

With other words, this battle in northern Lattakiya has now all the predispositions to turn from a 'flashy side-show' into a 'decisive battle of attrition'.

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In other 'news': the SyAAF MiG-25s are now confirmed to have spent several R-40RD/RT MRAAMs. Some reports indicate northern Hama Province, but exact area and reasons are actually unclear. What is known is that during the first 'engagement' (whether of air-to-air or air-to-ground type, that's unclear), about a week ago, one MiG-25 fired four, another then fired two R-40s. IN latest 'engagement', one MiG-25 fired two R-40s, one of which detonated about 5,000m above the ground, while the other hit the ground but failed to detonate (hope, the image attached below is going to function).



Surely, it's possible that they're trying to use them in something like 'air-to-ground mode', but I have my doubts about this. Alternative targets are possible L-39s and/or Mi-8s operated by the IF.