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Syria Direct: News Update 2-16-15

Daraa city witnesses fighting as northern front still hot The […]


16 February 2015

Daraa city witnesses fighting as northern front still hot

The contested city of Daraa witnessed heavy clashes in a rebel-controlled neighborhood Monday as the regime pounded the area with artillery, reported the pro-opposition Nabaa Media Foundation.

“The FSA targeted regime forces with anti-armor guns [in al-Manshia] and carried out direct hits,” Ahmed Musalima, of the pro-opposition Daraa Media Office, told Syria Direct Monday.

Al-Manshia is located in the predominantly rebel-controlled Daraa al-Balad, the southern section of Daraa city, the provincial capital.

Farther north on the main front, battles are ongoing as “the regime appears serious in its attempts to storm the area and re-impose its control,” Musalima added.

The Syrian military announced an operation earlier this month to isolate Damascus from rebel-held areas in the Daraa, Outer Damascus and Quneitra countrysides following a series of opposition gains in the South over the past several months, including the capture of Sheikh Miskeen and Liwa 82.

Shiite militias allied with the regime are reportedly doing most of the fighting. Two high-ranking Iranian officers were killed over the weekend, reported Dubai-based news agency Al-Arabiya.

Kurds capture Islamic State base in A-Raqqa province

Kurdish forces backed by Syrian rebels expanded their control over the Kobani countryside Sunday, capturing an IS base administratively part of A-Raqqa province, reported pro-opposition el-Dorar.

Battles have reached IS defensive positions east of the Euphrates River, south and southwest of Kobani, according to el-Dorar. 

RebelsDaraa FSA targets regime forces in Daraa on Monday. Photo courtesy of @MohmadMoneer. 

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