The Syrian Arab Army’s 1st Armored Division – in coordination with Hezbollah and the National Defense Forces (NDF) – has established full control over the strategic border-crossing at Ma’br Al-Kharbah, killing 29 enemy combatants from the Syrian Al-Qaeda group “Jabhat Al-Nusra” and destroying three of the latter’s armored vehicles in the process of their assault.
According to military source in Damascus, the SAA’s 1st Armored Division and their allies targeted Ma’br Al-Kharbah after they fully secured the Al-Jabeh Mountains that overlook the Lebanese province of Ba’albak, paving the way for the resistance forces to advance north towards the integral town of Ras Al-Marra in the Qalamoun Mountains of the Rif Dimashq Governorate.
In addition to the capture of another border-crossing into Lebanon, the SAA’s 1st Armored Division and their allies have successfully cutoff Jabhat Al-Nusra’s main supply route from the Al-Zabadani District to the Qalamoun Mountains; this creates a dilemma for the entrenched militants that are currently scattered around the Anti-Lebanon Mountains because the latter are reliant on this route for the replenishment of their scarce supplies.
On the opposite side of the Qalamoun Mountains, the SAA’s 1st Armored Division advanced at the vital town of Jayroud after they countered the Jabhat Al-Nusra attack from the Dumayr area on Monday morning – fighting is still ongoing between the two parties.
Despite claims by Syrian Opposition activists, the town of Deir Salman was not captured by the militants of Jaysh Al-Islam; however, the latter did launch a fierce attack that allowed their combatants to enter this town, but they were unable to force the Syrian Armed Forces to withdrawal.