Syria army in final drive for full control over Zabadani

Syrian forces and fighters of the Lebanese resistance movement, Hezbollah, have inched closer on pockets of militants in the border town of Zabadani, with some reports suggesting they are hours from declaring the strategic area as safe.  

The Arabic-language al-Alam said Tuesday that the allied forces managed to retake two key neighborhoods from the militants in western parts of Zabadani, a town located about 50 kilometers (31 miles) northwest of the capital, Damascus.

The report said Syrian forces and Hezbollah fighters seized full control of al-Zahra and the Harrah al-Gharbiah, forcing the militants to either surrender or flee to the plains outside Zabadani.

Scores of militants from the al-Qaeda-backed Nusra Front and the terrorist group calling itself Ahrar al-Sham were killed during the offensive. Other reports said five members of Ahrar al-Sham also surrendered to the Syrian soldiers.

Hezbollah’s official TV al-Manar said, however, that the allied forces have taken control of almost the entire Zabadani, saying they are hours from declaring the town safe. Al-Manar said the liberation of al-Zahra and Harrah was the most difficult part of the battle for Zabadani as the neighborhoods were impenetrable due to their compact civilian architecture and narrow alleys.

Al-Manar also said only 2.5 square kilometers from Zabadani remain under the control of militants.

Lebanon’s al-Ahd news website also quoted Walid Sakariya, a senior pro-Hezbollah legislator in the Lebanese parliament, as saying that Zabadani is “technically recaptured” and that from the military point of view, Syria and Hezbollah forces are in control of the town.

Syrian sources also said the army began shelling militant positions in the southern outskirts of Zabadani, saying the battle is nearing its end.

A highly strategic town in Syria’s Rif Dimashq Province, Zabadani has been a major stronghold of militant groups. Control over the town would entirely cut off the supply lines used by the militants for transferring ammunition and forces into areas near Damascus, while it also secures the highway connecting the Syrian capital to Beirut in Lebanon.

Villages retaken in Hama

Elsewhere in Syria, government forces managed to wrest back control of four key villages in Sahl al-Ghab region in the central Hama Province.

The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which is affiliated to foreign-backed opposition groups, said that some other strategic locations were also recaptured during the operation in Hama.

Hezbollah forces and other volunteer fighters also contributed to the offensive which saw Naqus, Ziyara, Tal Waset, and Mansura liberated from the occupation of the anti-government militants.

The UK-based observatory said clashes are still continuing in the villages of al-Qahira and Msheik. 

A large plain bordering Latakia, Sahl al-Ghab has been a main target of the militant attacks over the past months with an alliance of militants calling itself the Army of Conquest trying to capture Jureen region, a strategic bastion of the government forces in the plains.

Syrian media had said on Monday that the government forces were preparing for a large offensive in Sahl al-Ghab.

The Arabic-language daily al-Watan, said that an operation dubbed “The Earthquake” is underway to “dispel the terrorists' dreams of controlling this vital and strategic area.”

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