On September 7, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) captured several positions in Qa’a al-Banat and Qabr al-Sheikh Hassan in the northwestern and western parts of the area of al-Safa following heavy clashes with ISIS fighters, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).
“The terrorists suffered losses in personnel and equipment after the destruction of their fortified positions and defense lines between the basalt rocks and in the vicinity of low altitude hills,” the SANA’s reporter in al-Suwayda said.
During its advance, the SAA found a US-made M2 Browning 12.7mm machine gun, which had been used by ISIS fighters in al-Safa. The same type of machine guns is used by US-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) groups at the US-led coalition base in the nearby area of al-Tanaf.
A day earlier, the SAA advanced 2km deep inside the heavily fortified area of al-Safa after killing and injuring dozens of ISIS members.
Local observers believe that the operation in al-Safa will continue in the upcoming few weeks because the SAA is advancing slowly in order to insure the safety of around 30 hostages, who were abducted by the terrorist group more than a month ago.
Source: www.southfront.org
