The Syrian Arab Army’s 63rd Brigade of the prestigious 4th Mechanized Division and Hezbollah have gained significant ground in the resort-city of Al-Zabadani over the last 25 days; however, the war has extended to a new front – a battlefront that cannot be identified on any ordinary map of Syria or Al-Zabadani for that matter.
For the Islamist rebel forces – specifically, Jaysh Al-Islam (Army of Islam) – tunnels have proven to be their godsend against the superior weapons of the Syrian Arab Army and the vicious airstrikes from the Syrian Arab Air Force (SAAF).
These vast networks of tunnels have not just allowed for the Islamist rebels to evade the Syrian Armed Forces, they have given them a hidden storage facility for their large quantity of supplies, along with a hidden path to surprise the latter’s soldiers in condensed suburbs (e.g. Jobar).
Encircled and isolated, the Syrian Al-Qaeda group “Jabhat Al-Nusra” refused to surrender to the Syrian Armed Forces and Hezbollah; instead, they relied on their large network of tunnels inside Al-Zabadani to wage their own war underground.
As a result of Jabhat Al-Nusra’s network of tunnels, the Syrian Air Force has increased the prevalence of their airstrikes and the type of bombs they use; in fact, almost all of the SAAF’s bombs have been heavily weighted in order to penetrate the ground and obstruct Nusra’s movements.
Hezbollah and the SAA’s 63rd Brigade have responded to this style of warfare by sending in special forces to strike Jabhat Al-Nusra and their allies underground.
Recently, a military source reported of a fierce firefight between Hezbollah and Jabhat Al-Nusra at a tunnel under Jamal ‘Abdel-Nasser Street inside Al-Zabadani; the tunnel was only 70 meters long and 2 meters high.
With the battle for Al-Zabadani reaching its conclusion, look for Jabhat Al-Nusra and their allies to rely heavily on their network of tunnels; if the Syrian Armed Forces and Hezbollah can unearth and capture these tunnels, they will be victorious.
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:
Instead, provide reasoned counter-arguments that improve the conversation.