After the capture of the villages of Maliha al-Tash and the town of Nahtah yesterday, the Syrian Army appears to have captured the towns of Mulayhat Sharqiyah and Mulayhat Gharbiyah, east of al-Hirak, although these advances are not entirely confirmed. This advance puts the Army in a position to mount an assault the key rebel stronghold town of al-Hirak.

There were protests in favor of the Syrian government in the rebel-held towns of Ghariyah Sharqiyah (Eastern Ghariyah in the above map), Ibtaa, and Dael. Protestors waved Syrian government flags and called for rebel groups to leave their villages. Whether these protests were spontaneous or organized underground by paid Syrian government agents is unknown. Rebel fighters did not crack down on these marches, which happened on the streets in broad daylight.

Meanwhile, the Russian Air Force struck fourteen towns and villages over the past 24 hours with 150 bombs, causing dozens of casualties. Over the past week, Syrian and Russian aerial bombardment has killed 46 civilians in rebel-held areas, including young children. Many children were maimed in these bombings.

In addition, the Syrian Air Force struck ISIS targets far to the west of Daraa, bombing militant bases in the pocket of the Yarmouk Basin near the Israeli border in the Golan Heights. Israel did not respond.

The attack is part of Operation Basalt, a campaign intended to retake the town of al-Hirak, along with nearby settlements and ultimately the Nassib bording crossing, allowing Syria to resume trade with Jordan.

UPDATE:

Rebel forces shelled Syrian Army positions in north Daraa city. The Syrian Army responded with a salvo of Golan surface-to-surface missiles, striking multiple rebel positions.