...Liwa al-Islam (Brigade of Islam) was established by Zahran Alloush, the son of Saudi-based religious scholar Abdullah Mohammed Alloush, after Syrian authorities released him from prison in mid-2011 where he had been serving time for his Salafist activism. The group claimed responsibility for carrying out the July 2012 Damascus bombing that killed Defense Minister Dawoud Rajiha, Deputy Defense Minister Asef Shawkat, and Assistant Vice President Hassan Turkmani. It was a driving force behind actions in the Damascus region. It cooperated and conducted joint operations with al-Nusra. In Sptember 2013 Saudi Arabia engineered Liwa al-Islam's merger with fifty other more or less Salafist groups as a counterweight to al-Nusra, which the Learned Elders of Islam considered was growing too powereful..., alongside Faylaq al-Rahman, launched a Christmas offensive today that targeted the Syrian Arab Army's positions near the Hazrama Farms of the East Ghouta.
Following the mass mobilization of their forces yesterday, Jaish al-Islam chose to quickly strike the Syrian Arab Army's positions in the East Ghouta this morning.
Despite their best efforts to infiltrate the government's positions near the Hazrama Farms, Jaish al-Islam and their allies were ultimately repelled after a two hour long battle on Christmas Eve.
According to a military source in Damascus, at least ten Jaish al-Islam turbans were killed on Saturday, while the Syrian Arab Army claimed three of their own soldiers were KIA (killed-in-action).
The Syrian Arab Army's 105th Brigade of the Republican Guard is expected to launch a massive offensive in the coming weeks, as they attempt to recapture positions along the Harasta Highway.