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In the morning of March 6, local pro-government fighters targeted an ISIS cell in the northern al-Suwayda countryside, according to the al-Suwayda 24 blog.
The Syria-based blog said that local fighters detected a group of at least three ISIS fighters moving on a motorcycle near the town of Taraba. The fighters opened fire right away. However, the terrorists didn’t return fire and manged to escape.
Following the incident, the local factions in the northern al-Suwayda countryside were put on high alert in anticipation of any ISIS move, which maintains a strong presence in the nearby Damascus desert.
“The region is now witnessing a cautious calm as the local factions are on high alert,” the al-Suwayda 24 reporter said.
Last year, ISIS launched a large-scale attack on several towns in the northern al-Suwayda countryside. During the attack, more than 250 people were killed and 30 others were abducted. After months of clashes, the SAA secured the northern countryside and freed the hostages.
Despite the victory, ISIS cells resufraced again in northern al-Suwayda last month. Back then, the he Syrian Arab Air Force (SyAAF) carried out a series of airstrikes on ISIS hideouts at the administrative border between Damascus and al-Suwayda.
Local observers fear that the remaining ISIS fighters in the Damascus desert are preparing for a new attack on the residential areas in northern al-Suwayda. However, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) andlocal factions are more than ready to repel any such attack this time.
