The Islamist rebel factions from the Free Syrian Army (FSA) have renewed their offensive in the Golan Heights of the Al-Quneitra Governorate after a two day hiatus from the battlefield in order to regroup from their previous failed assault on the Syrian Armed Forces’ positions at the numerous hilltops and farms in this area.
Led by the Syrian Al-Qaeda group “Jabhat Al-Nusra and their allies from Harakat Al-Minsha, Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham, Liwaa Al-Furqan, Liwaa Seif Al-Sham, Jaysh Al-Yarmouk, and Thuwar Al-Souriya, the Islamist rebels stormed the strategic hilltops of Tal Taranjah, Tal Al-Ahmar, Sareya Al-Kataf and Tal Al-Qaba’a, where they were initially successful in breaking through the Syrian Armed Forces’ frontline defenses.
However, after a long engagement that lasted just over eight hours on Saturday, Fouj Al-Joulan (Golan Brigades) and Liwaa Suqour Al-Quneitra (Al-Quneitra Brigades) of the National Defense Forces (NDF) were finally able to force the Islamist rebels to retreat from the hilltop at Tal Al-Ahmar, killing 28 enemy combatants in the process.
Among the dead militants from the Islamist rebel factions was the military commander of Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham in southern Syria, “Abu Khalifah”, along with his aide, Mustafa Ta’ama Al-Gha’afari.
Firefights have since dissipated after the Islamist rebel forces withdrew from the hilltop at Tal Al-Ahmar; however, they will likely launch another assault on this imperative hilltop in the Golan Heights.
