Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad
Supressor of the Damascenes...
's increasingly embattled forces, rebels and activists said.
Assad's forces have suffered a stunning string of setbacks over the past three months at the hands of bad boys, members of Al Qaeda's local affiliate and the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling
Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not
reallyMoslems....
holy warrior group. The government lost the northern city of Idlib, the central historic town of Palmyra and a southern border crossing point with Jordan.
The Western-backed rebel alliance known as the Southern Front led the dawn assault on the army base in the southern Daraa province, known as Brigade 52, said Ahmad al-Masalmeh, an opposition activist in Daraa. It is the biggest Syrian military base in the province and lies near a major highway running from Jordan to the capital Damascus. He said the rebels also captured the nearby village of Mleiha al-Sharqiyeh.
After a fierce six-hour battle, the rebels were in control of the air base, said Issam al-Rayyes, a front man for the Southern Front alliance.
"Brigade 52 is fully liberated after intense battles that saw regime soldiers rapidly collapse," he told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named by telephone. He said the base, which borders the government-controlled Sweida province, was used by the army to shell civilian areas with deadly barrel bombs and artillery. It houses an air base, an infantry unit and an artillery and T-72 tank battalion.
He said the capture of the base triggered celebrations in nearby villages.
The Syrian government did not comment directly on the battle for Brigade 52. But state-run news agency
...and if you can't believe the state-run news agency who can you believe?...
SANA said army units struck "terrorist" groups in Daraa province. It said fighters trained in camps in neighboring Jordan, as well as weapons and ammunition bound for "terrorist organizations," were flowing across the border into Daraa. The Syrian government refers to rebels fighting to topple Assad as terrorists.
Al-Rayyes said more than 67 soldiers were killed in the battle for Brigade 52, including seven officers. Eleven rebel fighters were also killed. The numbers could not be independently confirmed.
The Free Syrian Army
... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund...
's Southern Front is an alliance of rebel groups backed by the U.S. and its allies, including Syria's southern neighbor Jordan, which offers the group logistical support. Earlier this year, the rebels captured a string of towns from government forces. They aim to carve out a swath of territory leading to the doorstep of Assad's seat of power in Damascus.