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Several checkpoints of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and security forces came under attack in the southern Syrian governorate of Daraa early on December 1, amid an ongoing large-scale offensive by militants linked to al-Qaeda in the north of the country.
An SAA checkpoint located near the town of Buser al-Harir in the eastern Daraa countryside was the first to be attacked, with militants firing a rocket-propelled grenade at the troops manning the checkpoint then clashing with them. No casualties were reported however.
Later, militants raided a checkpoint of the Syrian Air Force Intelligence located on a bridge near the town of Khirbet Ghazaleh in the northern Daraa countryside. Nine intelligence officers were reportedly killed as a result of the attack.
Separately, a checkpoint of the General Intelligence Directorate located between the towns of Inkhil and Simlin in the western Daraa countryside was attacked by militants. Two intelligence officers were killed in the initial clash with several others wounded.
The SAA chased the militants who attacked the checkpoint and shelled them inside Simlin. However, it is still unclear if any of them were killed.
No group has claimed responsibility for any of these attacks. However, al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is currently leading the offensive against government forces in northern Syria, remains the main suspect. The group is known to have a network of cells in Daraa and other parts of southern Syria.
Prior to the attack, warnings were reportedly delivered to many checkpoints of the SAA and security forces in Daraa countryside.
While the attacks were an escalation, the security situation in Daraa has been bad for years. HTS and its allies are likely trying to take advantage of the situation. However, an uprising remains unlikely as most local factions there view the group as an enemy.
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