Since the launch of the Hama Offensive on March 21, a patchwork of Syrian rebels, including Ahrar al-Sham, Tahrir al-Sham, and other Islamist factions, have captured numerous villages from the Assad regime, including Al-Sukhur on March 28.

In the fight for al-Sukhur, video footage posted by Ahrar al-Sham shows at least one rebel likely using a BGM-71 TOW missile to target three Syrian tanks in the area.
The BGM-71 TOW model has become a popular missile system among Syrian rebels, particularly since the US military, primarily through a CIA program supported by Saudi Arabia, had supplied such surface-to-air systems to vetted Free Syrian Army rebels in the past. Many of these weapons changed hands several times throughout the Syrian conflict. The BGM-71 TOW in particular has been used in recent months by Jaish al-Aza, a rebel faction in the northern Hama province with purported ties to both Ahrar al-Sham and the more diversified Free Syrian Army.