Syria widens assault in southwest, hits Daesh pocket
The Syrian government widened its offensive to recover the southwest on Wednesday, extending it to an enclave held by Daesh-affiliated terrorists as Russian warplanes targeted the area, a war monitor said.
The bombardment targeted the Yarmouk Basin area, which is held by the Daesh-affiliated Khalid ibn al-walid Army, Reuters reported.
President Bashar al-assad is seeking to recover the entire southwestern corner of Syria in an offensive that got underway last month and has so far recovered swathes of territory from armed groups fighting under the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) banner.
The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Wednesday’s airstrikes marked the first Russian strikes on the Yarmouk Basin area in the war.
Government helicopters had also dropped barrel bombs on the area – containers filled with explosive material, the Britain-based observatory said.
Syrian forces have so far recovered swathes of Dara’a Province in the southwest from FSA armed groups, many of whom have been forced into surrender agreements mediated by Russian officers. The United States, which once armed the southern FSA, told them at the start of the attack not to expect its intervention.
The Syrian government earlier this week took control of a strategically vital strip of the border from FSA armed groups in Dara’a Province, denying them any access to the Jordanian frontier that was once an enemy lifeline.