Syrian Army and Hezbollah Advance to Al-Shughaydilah in Southern Aleppo
The Syrian Arab Army’s 4th Mechanized Division – in coordination with Hezbollah, the National Defense Forces (NDF), and Kataebat Al-Ba’ath (Al-Ba’ath Battalions) – have advanced to the town of Al-Shughaydilah in southern Aleppo after intense firefights with the Islamist rebels of the Syrian Al-Qaeda group “Jabhat Al-Nusra”, Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham, Liwaa Suqour Al-Sham, and the Free Syrian Army (FSA).
According to a military source inside the provincial capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the Syrian Armed Forces and Lebanese Resistance advanced to Al-Shughaydilah after securing the southern axis of ‘Abtayn from the Islamist rebels of Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham, Liwaa Suqour Al-Sham, and Jabaht Al-Nusra; this aforementioned town is located to the southwest of Al-Shughaydilah and to the southeast of the Khan Touman Dam.
In addition to their success at the Al-Shughaydilah front, the Syrian Armed Forces and Lebanese Resistance have completely secured the imperative of Tal Shaghib near the Syrian Governorate’s only supply route to the Aleppo Governorate at the Khanasser Highway; this roadway has come under attack by the Islamist rebels of Jabhat Al-Nusra and Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham over the last four months.
The Syrian Armed Forces and Lebanese Resistance have recently captured a number of sites in the Aleppo Governorate’s southern countryside that the pro-government forces have not been in control of since the Free Syrian Army’s summer offensive in 2012.
Should the Syrian Armed Forces and Lebanese Resistance capture the town of Al-Shughaydilah, they will be approximately 20km from the Idlib Governorate’s northeastern border with the Aleppo Governorate and 25km from the Islamist rebel stronghold of Saraqib.
