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On March 15, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and the Tiger Forces backed up by the Russian Aerospace Forces captured the town of al-Rayhanah southeast of the Duma district in the eastern part of Eastern Ghouta from Jaysh al-Islam, according to Syrian pro-government sources.
The SAA and its allies reached the outskirts of the town of al-Rayhanah after they had captured the nearby Hawsh al-Mubarkha area on March 14.
The next main goal of the SAA in the eastern part of Eastern Ghouta will likely be the industrial area in the outskirt of Duma. Should the industrial area be secured, the SAA will likely halt its attack on that front because Duma is covered by a humanitarian ceasefire.
Meanwhile, the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)-linked news agency Iaba’a claimed that HTS fighters had launched a counter-attack on the town of Hammuriyah in the western part of Eastern Ghouta. The town was captured by the SAA earlier.
Few minutes later, several Syrian pro-government activists confirmed that the SAA had repelled the counter-attack and killed several fighters of HTS.
The SAA will likely continue developing its advance in the western part of Eastern Ghouta towards the towns of Saqba and Kafr Batna. Riam Dalati, a BBC journalist, already confirmed that US-backed Faylaq al-Rahman is preparing to withdraw from Kafr Batna.
All news disseminated by Faylaq Al-Rahman about regime ‘using civilians as human shields’ in #Hammouriyeh are complete lies and fabrications.
Faylaq fighters had been planning a retreat since morning. #Kafarbatna handover is next. https://t.co/iGbrk8AKLW— Riam Dalati (@Dalatrm) March 15, 2018
