Syrian Army and Popular Committees Resume the Al-Ghaab Plains and Salma Offensives

Syrian Arab Army (SAA) resumed their wide-scale assault inside the strategic Latakia Governorate city of Salma and the Al-Ghaab Plains of the Hama Governorate after a brief hiatus this past weekend to focus on the recent offensive in southern Aleppo.

However, this all changed on Monday morning, when the Syrian Arab Army’s 45th Regiment of the 1st Armored Division – in coordination with the National Defense Forces (NDF) and the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) – launched a new assault against the Islamist rebel forces inside the town of Al-Mansoura in the Al-Ghaab plains.

The Syrian Armed Forces struck the Islamist rebels of Jaysh Al-Fateh (Army of Conquest) at the western axis of Al-Mansoura after advancing from their positions at the nearby town of Khirbat Al-Naqous; this assault expanded to the Al-Mansoura Grain Silos, where the Syrian Armed Forces were confronted by a large contingent of Islamist rebels.

Despite claims of its capture, the Syrian Armed Forces do not control the Grain Silos or the town of Al-Mansoura – firefights are still ongoing, but neither side has made any significant advances in the last two hours.

The Syrian Arab Army’s Special Forces – in coordination with the National Defense Forces, the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, and Muqawama Souri (Syrian Resistance) – continued their military operations inside the southern district of Salma on Monday, targeting the Islamist rebels of Jabhat Al-Nusra near the southern orchards of this mountainous city.

According to a military source, the Syrian Armed Forces are inside the city of Salma; however, the battle is far from over, as the Islamist rebels control several hilltops and well-fortified buildings inside the city.