DAMASCUS, SYRIA (9:30 P.M.) – The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) is advancing with unprecidented pace through the Maskanah Plains, liberating 13 formerly ISIS-held villages and a number of farms in southeastern Aleppo on Saturday.
About two hours ago, the Tiger Forces – assisted by the 5th Legion and Al-Baqir tribe – also managed to overrun Maskanah train station and its adjacent housing area.
This advance threatens to cutoff Maskanah city, the last ISIS bastion in Aleppo province, from the Islamic State mainland in Raqqa. Effectively, jihadists belligerents defending the town must either hastily retreat from Maskanah or face certain death inside it.
Suheil Al-Hassan is currently exploring two linked offensives in the Maskanah Plains; one aims to widen the previously vulnerable Aleppo supply route while the other looks to encircle and liberate Maskanah, a town located near the Euphrates River.
Given the current rate of advance, the SAA is expected to enter Raqqa province within a fortnight, thus rivaling Kurdish forces in the coming battle for ISIS’ capital.
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