On May 16, a source in the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) told SouthFront that the SAA and its allies had captured most of ISIS positions in the northern part of the al-Hajar al-Aswad district south of the city of Damascus. According to the source, ISIS defenses collapsed following a successful attack of the SAA on the al-Quds Mosque in the northwestern part of the district.
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Meanwhile, Syrian warplanes continued its bombing campaign against the remaining positions of ISIS in the Yarmouk refugee camp, northeast of al-Hajar al-Aswad, according to pro-government sources.
From its side, the ISIS-linked news agency Amaq reported that ISIS fighters had killed more than 50 SAA soldiers and officers during clashes in al-Hajar al-Aswad and the Yarmouk camp over the past three days. Amaq also claimed that two tanks of the SAA had been damaged by ISIS fighters.
Local observers expect that the SAA and its allies will launch a large ground attack on ISIS positions in the Yarmouk camp from several directions once the northern part of al-Hajar al-Aswad district is fully secured.
