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The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and former fighters of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) repelled a large attack by ISIS on their positions in Qa’a al-Banat in the northwestern part of the heavily fortified area of al-Safa after two days of clashes, the al-Suwayda 24 blog reported on October 10.
According to the Syria-based blog, the SAA killed 19 ISIS terrorists and lost 6 of its soldiers during the clashes in Qa’a al-Banat. The area was liberated by the army and its allies only a week ago.
A day earlier, Syrian pro-government sources said that large reinforcements had arrived in the northern al-Suwayda countryside. These reinforcements will likely boost the ongoing SAA operation against the remaining ISIS cells in al-Safa.
More than 339 ISIS fighters have been killed in the northern al-Suwayda countryside and al-Safa by the SAA since July, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). However, hundreds of other fighters are believed to be hiding in al-Safa and other areas in the Damascus desert.
