Following their success near the Tha’lah Military Airbase in the western countryside of the Al-Sweida Governorate, the Druze Civil Defense – in coordination with the National Defense Forces (NDF) and Jaysh Al-Muwahiddeen (Druze Army) – shifted their focus to the northeastern front of the province, where the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) has wrecked havoc at the town of Qasr for over two months.
With a rather large contingent of fighters heading towards northeastern Al-Sweida, the Druze Civil Defense and their allies attacked ISIS’ frontline positions at Tal Bashaynat, killing 16 enemy combatants and destroying three armored vehicles that were mounted with 23mm anti-aircraft machine guns before dusk dissipated the clashes at this strategic hill near the town of Qasr.
If the Druze Civil Defense forces can eliminate the ISIS threat in the northeastern countryside – along with the constant threat of terrorism from the Syrian Al-Qaeda group “Jabhat Al-Nusra” – they will have successfully secured all perimeters around the Al-Sweida Governorate; which, in turn, will provide a boost to the embattled Syrian Arab Army and National Defense Forces in the provinces of Dara’a, Damascus, and Homs.
In addition to their assault on ISIS’ positions at the northeastern flank, the Druze Civil Defense Forces have joined the SAA’s 5th Armored Division in protecting the Khalkhalakh Military Airbase in the northwestern countryside of Al-Sweida.