On Monday morning, the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) continued its large-scale offensive in the eastern part of the Homs Governorate, as the terrorist group targeted a number of sites controlled by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and National Defense Forces (NDF) around the Al-Sha’ar Mountains and the outskirts of the ancient city of Palmyra.

ISIS began Monday by attacking the Syrian Arab Army’s 18th Tank Battalion at Jazal in the Al-Sha’ar Mountains, where they attempted to regain control of this village located near the Syrian Government’s strategic power grids and gas fields that provide electricity and gas to the residents of western Syria; this militant attack was later repelled after four hours of non-stop fighting.

West of the ancient city of Palmyra, the militants from ISIS attacked the National Defense Forces at Al-Qurayteen and Al-Farqalas, where they attempted to breach the latter’s frontline defenses in these predominately Christian villages located 35 km from the outskirts of the provincial capital of Homs.

However, ISIS’ attack was repelled, as the Syrian Armed Forces were given a big boost from the Syrian Arab Air Force (SAAF), who relentlessly bombarded the enemy combatants that attempted to reinforce their entrenched comrades at the villages of Al-Qurayteen and Al-Farqalas.

The Syrian Air Force did not stop there: the SAAF launched a total of 79 airstrikes on Monday, targeting the towns of Jabab Ahmad, Al-Shandakhiyah, ‘Umm Suhreej, Al-Taybeh, and ‘Ayn Bardeh in the Al-Badiyah area; this is likely the beginning of the SAAF’s bombardments, as the prevalence and intensity of these airstrikes will increase in the coming days.

ALSO READ  Syrian Army foils jihadist attack from Idlib buffer zone

With ISIS concentrating their militants near the Tiyas Airbase in east Homs, the Syrian Arab Army’s 550th Brigade and the 18th Tank Battalion are preparing for a counter-assault at the ancient city of Palmyra, where they are currently positioned one kilometer away from the city’s walls.

 

 

 

Advertisements
Share this article:
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
Leith Aboufadel
Editor-in-Chief Specializing in Near Eastern Affairs and Economics.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

Notice: All comments represent the view of the commenter and not necessarily the views of AMN.

All comments that are not spam or wholly inappropriate are approved, we do not sort out opinions or points of view that are different from ours.

Be Civil

This is a Civilized Place for Public Discussion

Please treat this discussion with the same respect you would a public park. We, too, are a shared community resource — a place to share skills, knowledge and interests through ongoing conversation.

These are not hard and fast rules, merely guidelines to aid the human judgment of our community and keep this a clean and well-lighted place for civilized public discourse.

Make it better

Improve the Discussion

Help us make this a great place for discussion by always working to improve the discussion in some way, however small. If you are not sure your post adds to the conversation, think over what you want to say and try again later.

The topics discussed here matter to us, and we want you to act as if they matter to you, too. Be respectful of the topics and the people discussing them, even if you disagree with some of what is being said.

Now the hard part!

Be Agreeable, Even When You Disagree

You may wish to respond to something by disagreeing with it. That’s fine. But remember to criticize ideas, not people. Please avoid:

  • Name-calling
  • Ad hominem attacks
  • Responding to a post’s tone instead of its actual content
  • Knee-jerk contradiction

Instead, provide reasoned counter-arguments that improve the conversation.