One day after capturing the Al-Zabadani Plains in the western countryside of this resort-city, the Syrian Arab Army’s 63rd Brigade of the 4th Mechanized Division – in coordination with the National Defense Forces (NDF) and Hezbollah – imposed full control over the Barada-Zabadani Road after fierce clashes with the Syrian Al-Qaeda group “Jabhat Al-Nusra” on Wednesday morning.
Following the capture of the Barada-Zabadani Road, the Syrian Armed Forces and Hezbollah carried out another powerful assault along Jamal ‘Abdel-Nasser Street, killing 9 enemy combatants from Jabhat Al-Nusra and Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham before they were able to fight their way back to the Al-Zabadani Bus Station, which is on the outskirts of the city’s downtown.
The battle of Al-Zabadani has become a battle of survival for Jabhat Al-Nusra and their allies from the Free Syrian Army’s “Al-Zabadani Hawks Brigade
and Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham, as the Syrian Armed Forces and Hezbollah have relentlessly pounded this resort-city on the border of Lebanon with aerial bombardments, mortar shells, and repeated infantry attacks that have taken a toll on the Islamist rebels.
According to a military source in Damascus, the enemy combatants have suffered over 100 casualties in the last 96 hours, despite repeated claims by Opposition activists that assert the rebel contingents have suffered minimal losses.
While the number of casualties can be debated for the Islamist rebels, the videos depicting the Syrian Armed Forces and Hezbollah advancing across Al-Zabadani cannot; these videos have provided observers with footage of every gain made by the Syrian Armed Forces and Hezbollah in Al-Zabadani.
