Syria, Hezbollah capture fresh posts in Zabadani
Syrian troops and fighters of the Lebanese resistance movement, Hezbollah, have captured new positions from militants in their fresh drive to take full control of the southwestern town of Zabadani.
Military sources said Monday that the allied forces managed to liberate several building blocks from the Takfiri militants in Hay al-Hakmah neighborhood east of Zabadani and further advanced toward the central parts of the city.
A report by the Arabic-language al-Alam said Syrian troops and Hezbollah fighters have now begun to advance towards Zabadani’s main church, a last remaining position for the militants inside the town. It said militants are now encircled in an area of about one square kilometer, having no other option than to surrender themselves or face a lightning advance by the allied forces.
Syrian troops also took control of the al-Jisr district in west of Zabadani, where schools and major streets were recaptured earlier on Monday.
Other reports said at least nine militants, including two major commanders of the so-called Ahrar al-Sham group, had turned themselves in. Lebanese media outlets said Syrian forces had managed to kill six militants and capture nine more. Those killed were mostly deployed in Wadi Bardah, a district known for its compact architecture, which lies at the heart of Zabdani.
The allied forces managed to retake some other buildings in Zabadani’s eastern neighborhoods on Sunday while Syrian fighter jets continued pounding the positions of militants in Madhaya, a town located near Zabadani on the road to the Syrian capital, Damascus.
Syria began its final push to take full control over Zabadani in mid-August with military officials saying at the time that the city was technically under the control of the allied forces. A truce was then declared to let the militants to surrender, but fighting began 48 hours later with Syrian forces continuing to chase militants in lanes and alleys inside the city.
A highly strategic town in Syria’s Rif Dimashq Province, Zabadani has been a major stronghold of militant groups over the past years. Control over the town would entirely cut off the supply lines used by the militants for transferring ammunition and forces into areas near Damascus, while it also secures the highway connecting the Syrian capital to Beirut in Lebanon.
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