VIDEO: ISIS overloaded as Syrian troops advance in eastern Hama under air support

The National Defence Forces (NDF) continued their anti-insurgency operations in the eastern Hama countryside on Wednesday, targeting a number of Islamic State outposts.

Supported by elements of the Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) 18th Tank Division, the NDF stormed and subsequently secured a farm area on the outskirts of Mufakkar Asharqi village during the afternoon.

The NDF called in numerous airstrikes to support the attack; subsequently, the Syrian Arab Air Force (SyAAF) increased its sorties against ISIS fighters in rural Hama.

The NDF is tasked and trained primarily for defensive warfare; therefore, SAA reinforcements are required if Syrian government troops are to launch a large-scale offensive into the Islamic State heartland of eastern Hama.

This offensive could prove productive for the SAA and NDF as ISIS holds overextended frontlines across Syria and Iraq.

ISIS overran much of eastern Hama in 2014 – the SAA and ISIS have been deadlocked in tit for tat battles in the region ever since.