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Syria Regime Forces, Hizbullah Capture Key Southern Rebel Town
[AnNahar] Syrian pro-government forces captured a strategic southern rebel town close to the Jordanian border after weeks of fighting, a monitor said on Tuesday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said regime troops and allied fighters, including Hizbullah ... Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as The Resistanceand purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory... members and Iranian officers, "seized control of Sheikh Miskeen" with the help of Russian and Syrian government air strikes. The town, in Daraa province, lies on a vital crossroads between Damascus to the north and the government-controlled city of Sweida to the east. It is 12 kilometers (seven miles) from the rebel stronghold of Nawa, another key target for regime forces. A security source had told Agence La Belle France Presse the Sheikh Miskeen was a "launching pad" for rebel operations, and one of the opposition's "centers of gravity for the whole of Daraa province". He said seizing control of the town would sever a rebel supply route to areas under opposition control around Damascus. Last month, government troops captured the Brigade 82 base outside the town, and they have since been pushing to capture Sheikh Miskeen. Most of Daraa province is controlled by opposition forces, though the government holds parts of the lovely provincial capital and a few villages in the northwest. Posted by: trailing wife 2016-01-27 |
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