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On August 24, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) captured the hills of Khirbat al-Hawai in the heavely fortified area of al-Safa, north of the governorate of al-Suwayda, following heavy clashes with ISIS, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). The SAA destroyed two vehicles of the terrorist group during its advance in the area.
The SANA reporter in al-Suwayda said that the SAA also advanced around the areas of Umm Marzakh and Qabr al-Shikh Hassan, which are located near al-Safa. According to the reporter, the SAA is preventing any terrorist from fleeing these areas.
Earlier this month, the SAA besieged the remaining ISIS fighters in al-Safa. However, the SAA didn’t storm the area because the terrorists are using around 30 civilians, who were abducted from the eastern al-Suwayda countryside, as human shields.
According to a report of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the SAA has killed 129 ISIS fighters since the beginning of its operation in northern al-Suwayda. However, hundreds of terrorists are still hiding in al-Safa.
