The Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) launched a large-scale offensive in the Homs Governorate’s eastern countryside on Tuesday morning, attacking the National Defense Forces’ frontline positions at the villages of Al-Dawa and Al-Bayarat near the strategic desert-city of Palmyra (Tadmur).
ISIS began the day by striking Al-Dawa at Palmyra’s western flank, imposing full control over the small village after a brief firefight with the National Defense Forces and Kataebat Al-Ba’ath (Al-Ba’ath Battalions).
The terrorist group seized a large cache of weapons and armory after the Syrian Armed Forces withdrew from Al-Dawa; these weapons included several grenade launchers, assault rifles, and even a T-55 Tank.
Following the capture of Al-Dawa, ISIS launched a large-scale assault on the village of Al-Bayarat in northwestern Palmyra; however, this massacre attack did not go as planned for the terrorist group, as the Syrian Armed Forces were well-prepared for the ISIS assault.
According to a military source at the T-4 Military Airport in eastern Homs, the Syrian Arab Army’s 67th Brigade of the 18th Tank Division – alongside the National Defense Forces and Kataebat Al-Ba’ath – beat back the encroaching terrorists, killing over 20 enemy combatants and destroying 3 armored vehicles mounted with anti-aircraft machine guns before nightfall on Tuesday.
