Syrian Army Reverses All Terrorist Gains at Tal Za’tar in West Dara’a

Earlier this week, the Islamist rebels of Liwaa Thawar Souriya launched a series of attacks on the strategic hilltop of Tal Za’tar, capturing this hill and the Sugar Checkpoint after fierce clashes with the Syrian Arab Army’s 132nd Brigade of the 5th Armored Division.

Following their capture of both the Sugar Checkpoint and Tal Za’tar, Liwaaa Thawar Souriya was pounded by a barrage of mortar shells and gunfire by the SAA’s 132nd Brigade, as the latter was preparing for their own counter-offensive to push the Islamist militants away from the border of Dara’a City’s western flank.

The SAA’s 132nd Brigade’s counter-assault proved successful, as they were able to recapture the Sugar Checkpoint and the hilltop at Tal Za’tar, reportedly killing two dozen enemy combatants and destroying three armored vehicles.

Tal Za’tar’s location is imperative to both the Syrian Armed Forces and the Islamist rebels due to is proximity to the provincial capital’s western suburbs; if controlled by either side, it holds the key to Dara’a City’s western and northern flanks,

Meanwhile, on the Al-Na’ima front, the Islamist rebels of Firqa Fallujah Houran suffered a number of casualties during their assault on the Syrian Armed Forces’ defensive positions at the town of Al-Na’imi on Saturday.

According to a military source in Dara’a City, the leader of Firqa Fallujah Houran, Amin Mohammad Al-‘Abboud, was reportedly killed during an armed confrontation with the National Defense Forces.

West of Al-Na’imi, a member of Jaysh Al-Yarmouk detonated a vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) – via a BMP – at the east entrance of Dara’a City; however, the explosion failed to open a path into the provincial capital’s eastern capital.