On Monday afternoon, the Syrian Al-Qaeda group “Jabhat Al-Nusra” launched another surprise attack at the Air Force Intelligence Headquarters in the Al-Zahra Association Quarter, detonating a bomb beneath the building before they stormed the Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) positions.
The first attack Jabhat Al-Nusra launched was initially successful, as they captured the building block around the Great Prophet Mosque (also known as the “Jama’iyah Al-Zahra”); however, they were later pushed back by the SAA after fierce clashes for two hours.
After two hours of silence, the militants Jabhat Al-Nusra launched another assault on the dilapidated building, attacking from the western axis and striking the orphanage.
Syrian Opposition social media activists reported the capture of the Air Force Intelligence Headquarters; however, a source located nearby affirmed that the AFI building was still standing and under the SAA’s control.
Clashes are believed have halted since nightfall in Aleppo, but the fighting is likely to resume at dawn.
At the Old Aleppo Quarter, the Syrian Arab Army carried out a special operations mission near the Aleppo Citadel, capturing a number of building blocks at the Farafira Quarter, while also killing over 30 militants from Jabhat Al-Shamiyah (Levantine Front) in the process of this attack.
In southern Aleppo, the militants from Harakat ‘Ahrar Al-Sham attempted to infiltrate into the Azzan Mountains after being forced to withdraw two days ago – their attack was repelled by the National Defense Forces and the Al-Ba’ath Battalions.
Fierce firefights were reported in northern Aleppo, where the militants of Jabhat Al-Nusra and Jaysh Al-Mujahiddeen carried out attacks at the villages of Duwayr Zeitoun, Bashkoy and Sayfat.
The Syrian Arab Air Force (SAAF) has been prevalent in the skies of Aleppo, as they conducted over 60 airstrikes that were geared to obstruct the militant movements around the province; specifically, the Hareetan Highway was the primary target.
The Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) has allegedly attacked Levantine Front in the northern Aleppo city of Mare’, one week after carrying out a suicide attack at the latter’s headquarters on the Turkish border.