Syria in Past 24 Hours:

Army Sends More Troops, Equipment to Sweida Deserts to End ISIL Presence

Rasa - The Syrian army forwarded a large number of elite forces and a large volume of military hardware to Toloul al-Safa in the Eastern desert of Sweida on Wednesday to purge the region of ISIL terrorists.

News ID: 440978

Date: 12 October 2018 - 12:31

The Syrian army forwarded a large number of elite forces and a large volume of military hardware to Toloul al-Safa in the Eastern desert of Sweida on Wednesday to purge the region of ISIL terrorists.

Sweida

The army forwarded a large number of special forces and more military equipment to the battlefields in Toloul al-Safa rugged terrain in the Eastern desert of Sweida from its bases in Damascus and Dara'a provinces to purge the region of ISIL.

In the meantime, other units of the army, backed up by artillery and missile units, continued fighting ISIL in Toloul al-Sasfa, imposing control over more key points.

Meanwhile, local sources reported that attempts to free civilians captured by ISIL have not produced results yet.

Also in the past 24 hours, the Syrian army’s High Command redeployed one of their elite divisions from the Idlib front to the Eastern desert of Sweida in Southern Syria, a military source said.

According to the military source, the Syrian Army’s High Command has redeployed their elite 4th Armored Division to Toloul al-Safa front in Southern Syria, al-Masdar news reported.

The source said that the 4th Armored Division will now be leading the charge to retake this important volcanic region that has been under the ISIL's occupation for over three years now.

The 4th Division is armed with some of the Syrian Army’s most advanced weapons and tanks, along with several battle-hardened brigades.

In particular, the 4th Division’s elite Ghiath Forces (42nd Brigade) have been tasked with leading the new push in Toloul al-Safa.

The Ghiath Forces are the Syrian Army’s most successful unit, as they played arguably the most important role in retaking all of the Damascus countryside.

Also on Wednesday, the Syrian army forces resumed their field operations against the ISIL in Toloul al-Safa region in Eastern desert of Sweida, deploying near the highest hill in the rugged terrain.

Backed by the Russian Air Force's heavy raids, the Syrian Army units began their operations this morning by storming Toloul al-Safa hills from several flanks, the AMN reported.

Following a series of intense clashes, the Syrian army managed to score a new advance at the Northwestern and Southwestern flanks of Toloul al-Safa region.

According to a military source in Sweida city, the Syrian army has reached the largest hilltop in Toloul al-Safa region after this morning’s clashes with the ISIL terrorists.

The Syrian army is now moving many of its soldiers to this front in preparation to storm this important hilltop that overlooks the entire region.

If the army is successful in capturing this hilltop, they will effectively have fire control over the entire Toloul al-Safa region.

Idlib

A Saudi commander of Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at (the Levant Liberation Board or the Al-Nusra Front), who was also a senior aide to the Commander of the terrorist group Abu Mohammad al-Joulani, was gunned down by unidentified attackers in Idlib province, an Arab media outlet reported on Wednesday.

The Arabic-language al-Manar TV Channel reported that Abu Yusef al-Jazrawi, a Saudi field commander of Tahrir al-Sham, was killed after unknown gunmen opened fire at him near the village of Ma'aratah in Southwestern Idlib.

It further added that al-Jazrawi was a security advisor to Abu Mohammad al-Joulani, Tahrir al-Sham's Chief commander.

Al-Manar went on to say that Mohammad Abu Salam, a Turkish Commander of Tahrir al-Sham, was killed in another attack by other unspecified parties in the small town of Ahsam in Southwestern Idlib.

Also in the past 24 hours, Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at demanded Turkey delay its retreat from the weapons-free zone mentioned in the Sochi Agreement until October 20.

The Arabic-language al-Watan newspaper quoted sources close to the terrorist groups in Aleppo and Idlib on Wednesday as saying that Tahrir al-Sham has not evacuated its heavy weapons from the demilitarized zone, adding that they have hidden their tanks, artilleries and missile-launchers.

They added that Tahrir al-Sham has informed the Turkish intelligence agency that it will not withdraw from the weapons-free zone because of a lack of agreement on areas to be held by the Ankara-backed militants which are due to host Tahrir al-Sham.

According to the report, Tahrir al-Sham has called for continued negotiations and demanded Turkey to hold talks with Russia to give militants some more time for withdrawal until October 20.

Aleppo

Sources affiliated to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) disclosed on Wednesday that tensions are likely to intensify between the Turkish army and Kurdish militias in Northeastern Syria as the SDF is reinvigorating positions and the US provides more logistic back-up for the Kurds.

The sources claimed that the US Army handed over 7 heavy construction machinery to the Manbij Military Council in Northeastern Aleppo to use them for fortifying positions.

In the meantime, commander of the Council underlined that his forces have taken all the necessary security measures to protect all entrances and roads to Manbij against any threat by the Turkish army.

"Our forces are entitled to make any move and do whatever they can to restore security in Manbij," he further said.

Turkish National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has recently underlined that the Turkish forces are monitoring the Kurdish militias' digging tunnels around Manbij.

Also on Wednesday, terrorists opened heavy fire at army positions West of Aleppo city after they claimed retreat from the demilitarized zone under the Sochi Agreement, a Russian media outlet reported.

The Arabic-language website of Russia's state news agency, Sputnik, reported that the terrorist groups, deployed in al-Zahra region in Western Aleppo that is a part of the demilitarized zone based on the Sochi Agreement, launched artillery and missile attacks on al-Nil, al-Shahba and al-Sehah Housings that are under the army's control.

It further said that the army later opened heavy artillery fire at the terrorists' positions in Western Aleppo in retaliation.

In the meantime, heavy clashes erupted between the army soldiers and terrorists at the Scientific Research district in Western Aleppo.

Raqqa

The Kurdish militia that dug long tunnels and trenches a couple of days ago to counter Turkish Army threats in Northern Raqqa have embarked on connecting their positions via tunnels to boost their defense capabilities, field sources reported on Wednesday.

The sources said that the Kurds dug a very long tunnel connecting 17th Brigade Base North of Raqqa city to al-Banat Plain region in the Northeastern part of the city.

The sources further said that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) started digging tunnels 4 meters wide and three meters high a few days ago to connect the Brigade to al-Banat Plain.

They went on to say that the SDF also boosted defense capabilities of the base by erecting cement walls around its buildings and posts.

Turkey has threatened to kick off a large-scale military operation on the Eastern banks of the Euphrates River in Syria.

Deir Ezzur

The US army has dispatched a long convoy of military vehicles to its base in one of the largest energy-rich region in Eastern Deir Ezzur, a militant-affiliated news website reported on Wednesday.

According to Fars News Agancy, smart news reported that the US army dispatched a convoy of vehicles, carrying arms and ammunition and military hardware to Eastern Deir Ezzur.

It went on to say that the convoy included 300 trucks and 30 armored military vehicles, adding that the convoy was sent to a US-run base near al-Tanak oilfield in Eastern Deir Ezzur, which is one of the largest energy fields in Syria.

Lattakia

Smart news reported that the US army dispatched a convoy of vehicles, carrying arms and ammunition and military hardware to Eastern Deir Ezzur.

847/940