AhlulBayt News Agency - The Syrian Al-Qaeda groups “Jabhat Al-Nusra” and “Jund Al-Aqsa” are on the offensive in southern Aleppo, targeting the strategic villages of Tal Al-Eiss and Banes that are currently under the control of the National Defense Forces (NDF), the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), and several Iraqi paramilitaries.
On Monday morning, the Al-Qaeda factions – with help from the Free Syrian Army’s TOW missiles – seized two hilltops from the Syrian Armed Forces after a violent battle that lasted two hours.
Among the hilltops captured by Jabhat Al-Nusra and Jund Al-Aqsa from the Syrian Armed Forces was Tal SyriaTel; this hill is strategically located near the villages of Banes and Tal Al-‘Eiss in southern Aleppo.
Following these gains, the Al-Qaeda factions turned their attention to the village of Tal Al-‘Eiss, striking the Syrian Armed Forces’ front-line defenses at the hilltops surrounding te western flank.
Preliminary reports from the Syrian opposition’s social media activists indicated that the extremist rebels capture Tal Al-‘Eiss; however, according to a Syrian military source, the village was not seized by the Al-Qaeda factions.
A video was released by an opposition media group, declaring Tal Al-‘Eiss “liberated”, but the footage was far away from the actual village itself; this was corroborated by the so-called “Syrian Observatory for Human Rights” (SOHR).
As of now, there is no proof that this strategic village was captured and Syrian military sources assert that Tal Al-‘Eiss is under their control for the time being.
The Russian Air Force, the Syrian Arab Army’s 154th Brigade of the 4th Mechanized Division, and Hezbollah were absent from this battle on Monday; however, the Russians are reportedly bombarding the extremist rebels tonight.
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