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On Thursday, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) repelled the Ahrar al-Sham Movement advance in the Armored Vehicle Base south of Harasta district east of the Syrian capital, Damascus city, according to Syrian pro-government and opposition sources.
Syrian opposition acitviests also reported that Syrian Air Force warplanes carried out more than 55 airstrikes against the Ahrar al-Sham Movement around Harasta in the last 48 hours.
Click to see the full-size map
Click to see the full-size map
Pro-government sources also revealed that the SAA is now planning to launch a counter-attack around Harasta district. The sources revealed that units of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) supported the Ahrar al-Sham Movement attack on the Armored Vehicle base.
Meanwhile, the Ahrar al-Sham Movement confirmed that it captured several buildings inside the base and released videos of its fighters inside it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdyR17CB480
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYK5S4DrrmM
According to opposition sources, the Ahrar al-Sham Movement attack on the Armored Vehicle Base was very large. The Ahrar al-Sham Movement and its allies advanced towards the base from southern, western and eastern directions. The Ahrar al-Sham Movement also targeted the base with a VBIED and used heavy weapons during the attack, including two up-armored battle tanks.
Click to see the full-size map
Click to see the full-size map
The SAA will likely recapture all the positions inside the Armored Vehicles Base from the Ahrar al-Sham Movement in the upcoming days. However, the attack revealed that radical Islamists are still strong in the Eastern Ghouta region. Due to this, the SAA next big battle might not be in Idlib governorate, but in Eastern Ghouta.
