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On September 6, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) advanced 2km deep inside the heavily fortified area of al-Safa, north of the governorate of al-Suwayda, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). The state-run news agency said that Syrian soldiers killed dozens of ISIS members during their advance.
Meanwhile, the al-Suwayda 24 blog reported that the SAA artillery and rocket launchers shelled dozens of positions of the terrorist group in al-Safa. According to the Syria-based blog, this forced the remaining terrorists to withdraw to the center of the area.
A day earlier, the SAA captured many positions in the outskirt of al-Safa following heavy clashes with the remaining fighters of ISIS there.
The SAA slowed down its operations in al-Safa over the last few weeks in order to ensure the safety of around 30 civilian hostages, who were abducted by ISIS in late June. The Damascus government had negotiated with the terrorist group to free the hostages. However, the negotiations failed and a military solution was adopted.
