BREAKING: Syrian Army storms Rashideen district southwest of Aleppo
The first line of rebel defenses inside ‘Rashideen sector 5’ have collapsed after elite units of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) infiltrated the southwestern suburb on Sunday evening.
With the SAA’s newly formed 30th Division of the Republican Guard storming the district as we speak, heavy clashes are ongoing between the SAA and Hayyat Tahrir al-Sham.
According to Al-Masdar News’ military source Ibrahim Joudeh, Syrian government forces have captured around 25% of the residential area.
As clashes continued into the night it was not immediately clear if the jihadist fighters would retreat from the neighborhood or fight to the last man.
Yesterday, the SAA captured the Rashideen hill overlooking the suburb; this paved the way for operations to capture Rashideen sector 5 (sometimes called Al-Ansari neighborhood).
Five days ago, the Republican Guard also took control of the nearby Aqrab area.
Aleppo city was officially liberated by the SAA last December. However, Islamist rebels still control most of the countryside west of the provincial capital.
