Syrian Armed Forces and Hezbollah Capture Large Swathes of Territory in the Qalamoun

The capture of Palmyra by the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) created an uproar in Syria; however, Hezbollah and the Syrian Armed Forces were able to supplement for this loss by capturing large swathes of territory in the Qalamoun Mountains after fierce clashes with the Syrian Al-Qaeda group “Jabhat Al-Nusra” on Wednesday.

Hezbollah began their assault on Wednesday, when they targeted a large contingent from Jabhat Al-Nusra at the hills that overlook Jaroud ‘Arsal in Lebanon from the Syrian border; this attack by the Lebanese Resistance Force led to their full control of Tal Sawalah and Sadr Al-‘Arouss after the enemy combatants suffered heavy casualties during the firefight.

In coordination with Hezbollah’s capture of Tal Sawalah and Sadr Al-‘Arouss, the Syrian Arab Army’s 20th and 128th Brigades of the 1st Armored Division carried out a number of attacks on the hills in southern Faleeta, resulting in the capture of Sha’ab Al-Hinkal, Qurnah Al-Nijasah Al-Mubarakah, and the village of Al-Hamidiyah on Wednesday morning in the Qalamoun Mountains.

The Syrian Armed Forces and Hezbollah did not stop there, as the two military entities launched another powerful assault on the hills of Jib Al-Yabass and Qurnah Sha’ab Al-Nassoub, killing a confirmed 19 enemy combatants before they were able to assert full control over this area.

Jabhat Al-Nusra is currently under siege in the Qalamoun Mountains, as Hezbollah and the Syrian Armed Forces control all the border-crossings into the Beqa’a Governorate of Lebanon; this leaves the militants from Al-Qaeda in a difficult predicament, due to the eventual scarcity of supplies.