FILE IMAGE: Sputnik/ Iliya Pitalev.
On October 4, a force of the Syrian Air Force Intelligence Directorate (AFID) backed by local pro-government fighters raided a house in the al-Musayfrah town in the western countryside of Daraa where a number of wanted militants were taking shelter.
The wanted militants resisted arrest and clashed with the force, which responded with heavy machine gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades. The main target of the raid, Ibrahim Bahaa al-Zoubi, was wounded in the clashes. Eventually, the force was able to apprehend four militants. It is not clear yet if al-Zoubi was one of them.
Following the raid, several militants attacked a checkpoint of the AFID in al-Musayfrah. The hit-and-run attack claimed the life of an intelligence officer.
A delegation of the Russian military has already visited al-Musayfrah to de-escalate. However, the situation in the town is still tense as of October 5.
The raid in al-Musayfrah was likely a counter-terrorism operation. The wanted militants may be suspected members of ISIS. The terrorist group’s cells have been active in the eastern countryside of Daraa.
The Syrian intelligence intensified their counter-terrorism operations in Daraa in the last few months. On September 23, Syrian intelligence officers killed seven terrorists of ISIS during a raid in the town of Jasim in the western countryside of Daraa. Prior to that, three senior leaders of the group were eliminated in three separate operations in the governorate.
The recent counter-terrorism operations led to some tensions with local militants in Daraa. Many of these militants are supportive of ISIS, although they are not members of the terrorist group.
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