On February 1, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) launched a new limited attack on positions of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in the Irbin district east of the Syrian capital, Damascus, according to Syrian pro-government sources. The SAA targeted several positions of HTS with the UR-77 mine-clearing system and Syrian-made Golan heavy rockets.
Syrian warplanes also supported the SAA attack and targeted several positions of HTS and US-backed Faylaq al-Rahman in Irbin, according to pro-government sources.
From its side, the HTS-linked news agency Iba’a announced that HTS and Faylaq al-Rahman fighters had repelled the SAA attack on their positions in the Irbin district. The source added that HTS fighters were able to kill ten Syrian soldiers while repelling the attack.
Moreover, Iba’a claimed that a T-72 tank, a Shilka vehicle and a bulldozer of the SAA were damaged by HTS and Faylaq al-Rahman during the clashes in Irbin. A mini drone of the SAA was also shot down over Irbin, according to the source.
#الجيش_السوري_الحر#فيلق_الرحمن تدمير جرافة عسكرية مصفحة لقوات #الأسد بعد إحباط محاولات قوات العدو اقتحام جبهات #عربين.https://t.co/84vDppzeGn pic.twitter.com/XN0fEhxD58
— فيلق الرحمن (@Alrahmancorps4) February 1, 2018
The new attack of the SAA confirms that the new ceasefire agreement that was reached during the Vienna talks on January 26 already failed. Right after its announcement, Ahrar al-Sham Movement, Faylaq al-Rahman, Jaysh al-Islam and HTS rejected the agreement and stressed that they will continue their attacks against the SAA in the Eastern Ghouta region.
