Hezbollah and the Syrian Army Assert Fire Control Over Al-Zabadani

Exactly two months after the Syrian Arab Army’s 63rd Brigade of the prestigious 4th Mechanized Division and Hezbollah launched their full-scale offensive in the resort-city of Al-Zabadani, they have found themselves in prime position to secure the entire area following their significant series of advances over the last 48 hours.

On Tuesday night, the Syrian Armed Forces and Hezbollah achieved the break-through that they have been looking for in Al-Zabadani after infiltrating the Islamist rebel positions of Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham, the Free Syrian Army (FSA), and the Syrian Al-Qaeda group “Jabhat Al-Nusra” at the Al-Balad Neighborhood near the city-center.

Following this achievement, the Syrian Armed Forces and Hezbollah captured the remaining territory near the city-center, where a number of enemy combatants from Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham and the Free Syrian Army put down their weapons and surrendered before they could be overrun.

Initial reports from the battlefield confirmed the capture of Al-Zabadani; however, a military source from Damascus asserted that this was prematurely announced by some of the soldiers inside Al-Zabadani.

The source further added that the Islamist rebels do possess a small parcel of territory in the Al-Balad Neighborhood, where they have entrenched themselves inside the surrounding buildings that overlook Al-Zabadani’s downtown area.

With the Islamist rebels pinned down inside a small parcel of territory, the Syrian Armed Forces and Hezbollah have asserted fire control over the entire city of Al-Zabadani.