On January 6, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) captured several buildings near the Abu Baker mosque north of the Armored Vehicles Base east of the Syrian capital, Damascus, according to the Hezbollah media wing in Syria.
The media outlet added that a defense line of the Ahrar al-Sham Movement besieging the base are collapsing because of the rapid SAA advance.
Pro-government sources reported that warplanes of the Syrian Arab Air Force (SyAAF) destroyed several positions and vehicles of the Ahrar al-Sham Movement in the districts of Harasta, Arbin, Hamouriyah, Mesraba and Madira. The SAA also destroyed several fortifications of Ahrar al-Sham around the Armored Vehicles Base with Syrian-made Golan-400 heavy rockets, according to the sources.
Several pro-government activists claimed that the SAA is currently deployed within 50-100 meters from the Armored Vehicles Base. However, these claims have not been confirmed. Many other sources said that the SAA is planning to secure northern side before breaking the siege on the base.
From its side, the Ahrar al-Sham Movement and its allies – al-Qaeda affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and Faylaq al-Rahman – have not conducted any operations against the SAA north of Harasta yet.