Syria in Last 24 Hours: Terrorists Sustain Heavy Losses in Army Offensive in Aleppo Province

The Syrian army killed and wounded scores of terrorists as they engaged in heavy clashes with the militants in the Southwestern countryside of Aleppo.

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

Aleppo

The Syrian Army’s artillery and missile units shelled heavily the positions of Jeish al-Fatah in several towns Southwest of Aleppo province, destroying the group’s arms depots and military vehicles in large scale.

The artillery and missile units opened heavy fire at Jeish al-Fatah’s positions in the towns of Khan Touman, al-Zerbeh, al-Eis, Khalseh, Zeitan, al-Qarasi, Bardeh and Hobar, killing tens of terrorists and destroying their arms depots and vehicles.

A field source said, meantime, that the terrorists’ movements from Idlib to the Southwestern regions of Aleppo province have stopped, adding that the army will possibly carry out a large-scale operation in this strategic region to lift the militant’s siege on the towns of Fouaa and Kafraya in Northern Idlib to pave the ground for recapturing the lands South of the two towns as well as terrorists’ positions in Western Aleppo.

Damascus

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said on Monday that the Syrian army foiled the plan of the newly-formed Tahrir al-Sham Hay’at (the Levant Liberation Board) to attack the capital, Damascus.

SOHR reported that Tahrir al-Sham Hay’at that is mainly comprised of Al-Nusra Front, Ahrar al-Sham and Jeish al-Islam militants had gathered 5,000 militants to storm the army’s checkpoints in Barzeh region in the Northeastern outskirts of Damascus city in Eastern Ghouta and then break through the government forces’ positions in the capital city.

The SOHR report added that the army had been monitoring the terrorists’ movements in the region and deployed its forces around Barzeh.

The army soldiers went on alert and started monitoring the entire streets in and the main road to Barzeh, SOHR added.

Other reports said the army started striking the militants’ concentration centers and defused the terrorists’ war plan.

Earlier reports said that the army soldiers continued to hit hard terrorists’ defense lines in Eastern Ghouta and recaptured several more positions of the Al-Nusra after hours of non-stop clashes.

The army troops engaged in fierce clashes with terrorists near Harasta town Northeast of Damascus city and advanced against them in the gardens near Harasta, taking control over two positions of the terrorists.

In the meantime, the army men pushed the terrorists back from al-Wadi grand mosque and al-Nour driving school on the Western side of Harasta highway.

Local sources said that the army soldiers also drove terrorists out of the gardens in Tishrin district adjacent to al-Qaboun district.

Idlib

Media sources disclosed that a new wave of tensions has erupted between the newly-formed Tahrir al-Sham Hay’at (the Levant Liberation Board) and Ahrar al-Sham in Northern Idlib.

The Arabic language al-Ahd news website reported that the Al-Nusra Front (recently renamed to Fatah al-Sham Front) that forms the main part of Tahrir al-Sham Hay’at started to set up a command post near the Ahrar al-Sham’ checkpoint in Bab al-Hawa square only 300 meters away from the main gate of Bab al-Hawa border crossing.

Al-Ahd added that Ahrar al-Sham, in response, reinvigorated its positions in the region to block any possible attack by Al-Nusra.

“Meantime, a commander of Tahrir al-Sham said that the Hay’at intends to conclude a new agreement with Ahrar al-Sham to grant the control of the Bab al-Hawa border passage to a third party, possibly Faylaq al-Sham,” al-Ahd added.

In the meantime, Tahrir al-Sham took control of Ahrar al-Sham’s checkpoints in the villages of al-Mastoumeh and Kafr Yamhoul in Southern Idlib.

Also, sources affiliated to the terrorist groups said that top commanders of Ahrar al-Sham have held a meeting to decide about their response to the recent attacks of Tahrir al-Sham Haya’at on their positions.

Sweida

The Syrian Army troops targeted a command post of ISIL in Northeastern Sweida, inflicting major casualties on the terrorists.

The army units hit ISIL’s positions in the Southern part of al-Qasr village, destroying one of their command posts and killing or wounding all the terrorists inside the building.

Deir Ezzur

The Syrian Army troops continued to attack ISIL’s positions in the Southern outskirts of Deir Ezzur and managed to capture a key height, paving the ground for the removal of the siege on the city’s airbase.

The army soldiers engaged once again in clashes with ISIL terrorists in al-Maqaber (cemetery) region in the Southern outskirts of Deir Ezzur city and seized control of Aloush hill.

In the meantime, the Syrian Air Force targeted the concentration centers and movements of ISIL in al-Maqaber.

The warplanes also bombed ISIL’s positions in Hill 17, al-Mohandeseen region, al-Makbat region, near Tamin Brigade and al-Thardah mountain in the Southern outskirts of Deir Ezzur city, inflicting a number of casualties on the terrorists.

Also, the army’s artillery units targeted ISIL’s positions in al-Maqaber, al-Baqaliyeh village, Hatleh region, al-Sina’ah neighborhood, West of Tal (hill) al-Sonouf, Tal al-Rawad and al-Roshdiyeh neighborhood on Sunday, killing and wounding a number of terrorists and destroying several vehicles.

In the meantime, the Russian and Syrian warplanes carried out continued attacks on ISIL’s positions in the villages of al-Mariyeh and al-Jafreh near Deir Ezzur’s airbase.

ISIL’s positions in the villages of Ayash and al-Baqaliyeh came under heavy air raids in the Western outskirts of Deir Ezzur city.