(Zaman Al Wasl)- Syrian regime army forces backed by Iranian-backed militias took a strategic village near at the foothills of Mount Hermon near the Israeli-Occupied Golan Heights border, rebel commander told Zaman al-Wasl on Wednesday.
Taking Mugher al-Meer village make the army and the Shia forces less than one mile from the Sunni-rebel held bastion of Beit Jin, said Mohamed al-Zamel, the press officer in Alwyat al-Furqan rebel group.
The Assad army and allied forces advanced east and south of Beit Jin backed by some of the heaviest aerial bombing and heavy artillery shelling since a major assault began over two months ago to seize the area, Reuters reported.
Over the week, the army said it had encircled the village of Mughr al-Meer as troops moved towards Beit Jin amid fierce clashes.
The enclave is the last rebel bastion left southwest of Damascus known as the Western Ghouta that had since last year fallen under government control after months of heavy bombing on civilian areas and years of siege tactics that forced rebels to surrender.
Itihad Quwat Jabal al Sheikh, key FSA unit operating in Quneitra province, denied regime reports of evacuation deal deporting hundreds of its fighters to northern Idlib province, rebel commander told Zaman al-Wasl on Tuesday.
The alliance of the Union of Fighters of Jabal al Sheikh in the town of Beit Jin are not interested in any deal with regime, according to al-Zamel.
A Western intelligence source confirmed rebel reports that Iranian-backed militias including Hezbollah were playing a major role in the ongoing battles.
"The Iranian-backed militias are trying to consolidate their sphere of influence all the way from southwest of Damascus to the Israeli border," said Suhaib al Ruhail, an official from the Liwa al Furqan rebel group that operates in the area.
Weeks of escalation
Worried by Iran's expanding influence in Syria after the defeat of Islamic State, Israel has stepped up its strikes in the past few weeks against suspected Iranian targets inside Syria.
Early this month, an Israeli strike on a base near Kiswah, an area south of Damascus, was widely believed to be an Iranian military compound, according to a Western intelligence source.
Israel has been lobbying both big powers to deny Iran, Hezbollah and other Shia militias any permanent bases in Syria, and to keep them away from the Golan, as they gain ground while helping Damascus beat back Sunni-led rebels.
The southwest of Syria is part of a de-escalation zone in southern Syria agreed last July between Russia and Washington, the first such understanding between the two powers.
The area has not seen Russian bombing unlike other ceasefire areas in Syria.
Rebels still have a sizeable presence in central and southern Quneitra, in the Syrian Golan Heights.
Western diplomatic sources say the crushing of the Sunni rebel presence in areas they have been in since 2013 will allow Hezbollah to open another secure arms supply line from its border in southern Lebanon into Syria.
Since the beginning of the conflict in Syria, Iran has had a growing presence in the country, deploying thousands of Shia fighters who have fought against both mainstream Sunni rebel groups and more militant groups. (With Reuters)
Zaman Al Wasl
Comments About This Article
Please fill the fields below.