The Syrian Arab Army’s 106th Brigade of the Republican Guard – in coordination with the National Defense Forces (NDF) – made significant progress in the Al-Ghaab Plains on Tuesday night, capturing the towns of Khirbat Al-Naqous, Al-Mansoura, and Tal Wassit after fierce clashes with the Syrian Al-Qaeda group “Jabhat Al-Nusra” and their allies from Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham and Jund Al-Sham.
On Wednesday morning, the conglomerate of Islamist militias “Jaysh Al-Fateh” launched a counter-assault at Al-Mansoura, where they successfully recaptured the town after a brief battle with the National Defense Forces stationed around its parameters.
Following the capture of Al-Mansoura by the Jaysh Al-Fateh militants, the National Defense Forces withdrew from the aforementioned town towards Tal Wassit, where they fortified their positions alongside the Republican Guard at the hilltop’s northern perimeter.
Despite their success at the town of Al-Mansoura, the Islamist groups from Jaysh Al-Fateh were unsuccessful in their attempt to regain control of Tal Wassit and Khirbat Al-Naqous, resulting in the death of over 25 enemy combatants and the destruction of two armored vehicles that were mounted with 23mm anti-aircraft machine guns.
In the southeastern countryside of the Al-Ghaab Plains, the Syrian Armed Forces targeted the militants of Jabhat Al-Nusra at the Al-Kareem-Al-Shari’ah axis, killing 13 enemy combatants before advancing east of their launching point.
South of Jisr Al-Shughour, the Syrian Arab Army’s 87th Brigade of the 11th Tank Division downed a Turkish reconnaissance drone near the hilltop at Tal Sheikh Khattab after it was spotted circling their positions.