On June 28, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and the Republican Guard, backed by the Russian Aerospace Forces, launched a ground attack in the western Daraa countryside.
Minutes after the beginning of the attack, the SAA captured the areas of Sad Ibta, Tell Hamad and the 271st Brigade, according to the Hezbollah media wing in Syria.
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A source in the SAA told SouthFront that the main two targets of the new attack are the towns of Ibta and Da’il. The two towns witnessed large protests against the US-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) a day earlier, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).
As expected, the FSA has not conducted any defensive operation against the SAA in the western Daraa countryside yet. However, this may change soon as the FSA reportedly reached an agreement with the ISIS-affiliated Khalid ibn al-Walid Army, which may allow the radical group to join the fight against the SAA.
The SAA will likely attempt to besiege Ibta and Da’il in order to pressure the remaining fighters inside the two towns into accepting a reconciliation agreement.
