(Zaman Al Wasl)- Syrian regime warplanes pounded rebel bastions in the eastern Qalamoun region overnight, killing 4 fighters, activists and residents told Zaman al-Wasl.
Activists Wessam Abdulnour said the strikes targeted Jaish al-Islam and Ahmed al-Abdo Battalions.
The regime escalation came as a warning for rebels operating near the besieged Eastern Ghouta suburbs to not take any retaliation in support of their fellow fighters near the capital.
Head of the Third Division warns rebels of the Eastern Qalamoun to not take any 'aggressive act,' against regime forces and allied militias, saying the army will destroy the towns of Qalamoun in response.
In relevant development, Al Badia Cement factory at the eastern edge of Ghouta suburbs has turned into a regime’s major arsenal, local activists and rebels said.
The civil utility in the industrial zone of al-Dumayr town 60 km (40 miles east of Damascus) has become a base for the Russian and Iranian military experts along with hundreds of Elite Tiger Force fighters.
Said Seif, spokesman for Ahmed al-Abdo Battalions, said the China-owned cement planet is now the regime’s favorable choice to avoid any Israeli or even American airstrikes, taking advantage of its infrastructure to hide weapons, chemicals and manpower.
The utility cost China $400 million where long hangers and underground depots were built and equipped.
Al Badia Cement is a strategic bastion to provide logistic supply to regime forces in their deadliest offensive on the Eastern Ghouta. Being close to Al Dumayr military airport and the 16th Division, Ballistic Missile base, is also another advantage, Seif said.
As death toll of Bashar al-Assad Assad’s onslaught reached a total 800, rebel factions face a similar scenario of Aleppo offensive like heavy bombardment, media incitement and using civilians as weapon.
On Monday, the Assad army and its allies have captured more than a third of the rebel enclave in eastern Ghouta since starting a ground offensive there a week ago, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Monday.
The Observatory said more than 719 people have been killed in eastern Ghouta in the past two weeks, since the regime and its allies began a massive bombardment of the area on Feb. 18 in preparation for the attack.
More than 470,000 people have been killed and 12 millions have been driven from their homes since Syria's revolution erupted in 2011.
Zaman Al Wasl
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