Hezbollah and the Syrian Armed Forces Inching Closer to the Capture of Al-Zabadani

The Syrian Arab Army’s 63rd Brigade of the prestigious 4th Mechanized Division and Hezbollah are officially fighting Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham and the Syrian Al-Qaeda group “Jabhat Al-Nusra” inside Al-Zabadani’s downtown area after they broke-through the latter’s frontline defenses at the Al-Zabadani Bus Station on Friday.

On Saturday morning, the Syrian Armed Forces and the Lebanese Resistance made huge strides at the western sector of Al-Zabadani, capturing the Bardeh Mosque after fierce clashes with Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham, Jabhat Al-Nusra, and the Free Syrian Army’s “Al-Zabadani Hawks Brigade” along Main Street’s developed road.

Following their capture of the Bardeh Mosque, a joint contingent of National Defense Forces (NDF) and Hezbollah soldiers pushed into the Al-Zabadani Cornice, where they were confronted by Jabhat Al-Nusra and Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham fighters, resulting in fierce clashes between the two parties.

The battle for the Al-Zabadani Cornice lasted for three hours, resulting in the eventual withdrawal of the Islamist rebel fighters to the north towards the city-center in order to avoid the Syrian Armed Forces and Lebanese Resistance soldiers that were overrunning their positions from the southern and western flanks.

As a result of Saturday’s fighting, the Syrian Armed Forces and Hezbollah are now within a few meters of the strategic Mahta Roundabout that sits in the heart of Al-Zabadani’s downtown; if captured, this could be the end of the Islamist rebel fighters in this resort-city.