Syria in Last 24 Hours: Senior Nusra Front Commanders Killed in Clashes with Rival Group in Damascus Countryside

Senior Nusra Commanders, Abdul Rahman Sakhar Mahareb, was killed in clashes with rival Jeish al-Islam terrorist group in the Eastern countryside of Damascus.

The Syrian army also inflicted heavy losses on the terrorist groups in other key province across Syria.

Damascus

A number of terrorists, including two senior commanders of Al-Nusra Front (Tahrir al-Sham Hay’at or the Levant Liberation Board) were killed in bloody clashes with Jeish al-Islam terrorists.

A number of terrorists, including Abdul Rahman Sakhar Mahareb and Abdul Rahman Walid Rabi’a, two commanders of Al-Nusra, were killed in bloody battle between Jeish al-Islam and rival terrorists of Al-Nusra and Faylaq al-Rahman in the town of Beir Sawa, al-Ash’ari and al-Aftaris farms.

Field reports said that Jeish al-Islam imposed control over farms near the town of Beit Sawa after driving rival terrorists out of the farms.

Jeish al-Islam said in a statement on Monday that Reza Hariri, a notorious field commander of the terrorist group, was killed in a booby-trapped car bomb blast in Eastern Ghouta.

Jeish al-Islam terrorist group, in its statement, blamed Al-Nusra Front for the death of Hariri, nom de guerre Abu Abdullah 200 who was the commander of the sixth brigade of the group in region.

Hariri was killed in the town of al-Nashabiyeh in Eastern Ghouta, the statement said, adding that Abu Talal Mosalemh, Hariri’s aide was also injured in the bomb blast.

Field reports said meantime that, heavy infighting erupted between Faylaq al-Rahman and Jeish al-Islam in the town of Beit Sawa and the farms of al-Ash’ari and al-Aftarus in Eastern Ghouta that inflicted heavy death toll on both sides.

The reports added that a large number of militants were killed and injured in the infighting.

Aleppo

Satellite images released on social media showed that the Syrian Air Force has sent a number of fighter jets to Kuweires Airbase in Eastern countryside of Aleppo city to use them in anti-terrorism operations.

The satellite images showed a clear build-up of Syrian Air Force attack aviation at the Kuweires Airbase in Aleppo province.

The aircraft in question are L-39 light attack jets, a staple asset of the air force tactical airpower.

Based on satellite pictures taken of the nearby al-Nayrab Airbase (also in Aleppo province), it appears that the build-up of military aircraft at the Kuweires Airbase came at the direct expense of al-Nayrab.

The images show that at least nine L-39s of twelve once present at al-Nayrab Airbase were relocated to the Kuweires Airbase at some point in the last six months.

The official reason for the transferal of attack aircraft from the al-Nayrab Airbase to the Kuweires Airbase is unknown at this time.

A military airport said on Thursday that Jarah military airbase in Aleppo came back into operation and Syrian and Russian warplanes carried out several anti-ISIL sorties from the airport.

The source said that Jarah airbase was being used again by Damascus and Moscow after four years of occupation by the terrorists.

He added that the Syrian and Russian fighter jets stationed in Jarah help the Syrian ground troops and their allies in their operations against the ISIL terrorist group in Eastern Hama and Southern Raqqa.

The Syrian army recaptured the Jarah military airbase in the Eastern parts of Aleppo in mid-May as pro-gov’t forces look to expel ISIL from Aleppo once-and-for-all.

Homs

A news website affiliated to the terrorist groups reported on Tuesday that militants in the Northern parts of Syria’s Homs province have reached an agreement with the Russian delegation over ceasefire within the framework of a de-escalation zone.

The website reported that representatives of the Negotiation Committee in Northern Homs held talks with the Russian delegation in the small town of al-Mohayedah near the town of Dar al-Kabireh and concluded an agreement.

It added that the committee and the Russian delegation will hold new sessions to prepare a draft for a new agreement.

The website went on to say that both sides underlined commitment to ceasefire in de-escalation zone and ease of dispatch of UN aid convoys in al-Mohayedah agreement.

It further said that release of all the captives are atop the agenda of the al-Mohayedah agreement, adding several meeting will be held in coming days to assess the trend of the implementation of the agreement.

Russia, Iran and Turkey agreed on May 4 to set up four de-escalation zones in Syria.

Under a memorandum signed at the talks in Kazakhstan’s capital of Astana, these four zones include the Idlib Province and some areas in the neighboring provinces of Aleppo, Lattakia and Hama, an area North of Homs, the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta, and a couple of provinces in Southern Syria, Dara’a and Quneitra.

In those areas, outlawing combat operations, along with the establishment of a no-fly zone for military aircraft, were set as of May 6, while the memorandum was concluded for six months and can be extended automatically.

Sources affiliated to the terrorist groups reported on Tuesday that tens of Russian forces entered Northern Homs to monitor the ceasefire agreement between the Syrian Army and militants concluded on Thursday.

The sources said that 40 Russian military policemen arrived in Dar al-Kabireh passageway in Northern Homs along with their vehicles to monitor the newly-brokered ceasefire in the region.

Hama

The Syrian Army troops continued to advance against ISIL in the Eastern territories of Homs and Hama provinces, paving the ground for the full liberation of Central Syria after almost four years of terrorists’ occupation.

The Syrian pro-government forces imposed heavy defeats on ISIL after taking control over the key town of al-Sukhnah in Eastern Homs and their advances in the Southern parts of Raqqa province in recent days.

In the meantime, thousands of the Syrian soldiers East of the town of al-Salamiyah in Eastern Hama managed to advance significantly towards the town of Aqayrabat, driving ISIL out of a number of key positions.

Also, the Syrian and Russian fighter jets have continued their heavy air raids on ISIL’s movements and positions in the Eastern territories of Hama and Homs.

According to a military source, the ISIL has sent most of their fighters deployed in Eastern Hama to the Tayebeh region.

The source added that the ISIL terrorists are being deployed to Tayebeh in order to obstruct the Syrian Army from reaching their forces in the Homs province.

Aqayrabat has long been the ISIL’s main stronghold in the Central Syria as it is a cross-roads town that is located near the provincial borders of the Hama, Homs, and Raqqa provinces, and SIL’s defeat in al-Sukhnah is a severe blow to the terrorists in Aqayrabat.

Losing Aqayrabat — after al-Sukhnah — will leave the ISIL group with no choice but to abandon Central Syria and move their remaining militants to the Eastern part of the country, Deir Ezzur.