Members of the Free Syrian Army, Jaish al-Islam and Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian Al-Qaeda branch) are considering to surrender the town of Khan Shih to the Syrian army.
The town of Khan Shih is located in the Western Ghouta region, near the Syrian captial Damascus. After the Syrian army seized the Air Defense Battalion hill between Deir Khabiyan and the 137th Regiment on October 28, the militant-controlled area in Western Ghouta was splitted into two separate pockets: the Khan Shih pocket and the Zakiyah pocket. This destroyed the militants’ logistics in the region and allowed the Syrian army to start a military operation to liberate militant-controlled areas .
Today morning, the government delegation has arrived to Khan Shih to discuss with militants the terms and conditions of their surrender. The negotiations are ongoing amid the continued army offensive in Khan Shih’s countryside.
When Khan Shih is liberated, the militant-controlled town of Zakiyah and nearby settlements will also fall soon.
With recent gains in Eastern Ghouta (liberation of Tell Kurdi and others) the Syrian government forces have become very close to the full liberation of Damascus countryside from Western-backed militant groups.
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