AhlulBayt News Agency - On May 1, Syria’s forces continued operations in the areas near the Syrian captial, Damascus. The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies took control of the the village of al-Rukabiyah following a day of clashes with the Islamists. Hezbollah fighters reportedly supported the SAA units in this operation.
On Saturday, government troops entered the village and captured most of it; however, some buildings were still occupied by Islamist militants by the end of the day.
On the other hand, Islamist rebels of Jabhat al-Nusra and Jaish al-Islam were still present inside al-Rukabiyah up until the morning hours but were subsequently forced to retreat eastwards due to the rapid government advance.
With Islamist fighters expelled from al-Rukabiyah, the SAA’s 102nd Brigade, National Defence Forces (NDF) and Palestine Liberation Army are now setting up defensive positions inside the village to avoid a counter-offensive.
During Sunday’s battle, 19 Islamist insurgents were killed with the SAA seizing many ID-cards from the deceased militants. In turn, government forces suffered 3 deaths and 17 injuries to their soldiers.
Next, the Syrian Armed Forces will likely target the neighbouring towns of Dayr al-Assafir and Zabdeen which are still controlled by rebel fighters.
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