This operation aims to take over the 90th Brigade’s fort, affiliated with the Free Syrian Army in the middle area of Quneitra.

Armed groups in Golan launched an operation named “By the sun and its brightness” (Surat al-Shams) yesterday [July 10]. Brigades from the Military Council of the Free Army are participating in the operation, alongside others from the Ababil Horan Brigade, Martyrs of Damascus, the Husayn Bin Ali Battalion, Infantry Division 24, al-Haramain Brigade, Shabab al-Huda (Huda Youth Brigade), in addition to Jabhat al-Nusra, the Levant Liberation Band and Liwa al-Fatihin.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, “At least 20 IS members were killed and others were injured due to air force raids over a training base for IS militants,” adding that 14 military vehicles were also destroyed.

Twenty members of the Islamic State (IS, formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, or ISIS) were killed in Syrian air force raids over Raqqa governorate.

Clashes started again on Syria's southern front, especially in Quneitra, between the factions and the Syrian forces, while militants committed a massacre in the countryside of Hama, killing 14 people.

The media office of the Syrian Rebels Front said they took over a military unit in Ain al-Darb and its neighboring farms.

This operation is the first in months in the Golan, where militants were able to take over the Red Hills near the border with the occupied Golan, while the army was able to regain control over the middle area.

This attack aims to secure larger areas under the control of militants on one hand, and to create a connection between the countryside of Quneitra and the countryside of Houran, on the other hand.

It is intriguing that Jabhat al-Nusra is participating in the clashes alongside the Free Syrian Army after it distanced itself from previous battles due to the tension between them and the other factions in Houran, after the leader of Jabhat al-Nusra’s military council, Ahmad al-Nehme was arrested. During the past few days, Jabhat al-Nusra invaded a number of villages that are under the control of the Free Syrian Army.

The Syrian news agency, SANA, said militants committed a massacre in Khotab in the countryside of Hama, killing 14 people.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported, “The casualties included children and women, others were executed and their bodies dismembered by the brigades in that area.” Minister of Justice Najm al-Ahmad declared that a committee is being formed to investigate what happened in the village.

Sources affiliated with the armed opposition accused the dead of being “informants” who work for the Syrian forces.

In Idlib, clashes continue around the Hamidiya camp, south of Maarat al-Numaan, while the Observatory for Human Rights said militants took over a checkpoint near the camp. Clashes also continue in the neighboring area of Madajen.

In Hasakah, a suicide bomber from IS targeted a Kurdish People’s Protection Units checkpoint in Ain al-Arab, around which clashes between IS and the Kurdish units have been occurring.

In Eastern Ghouta, Jaysh al-Islam militants attacked an IS office in Midaa and Misraba, amid reports of the death of a number of IS emirs, including Abu Mohamed al-Homsi, Abu Jaafar and Abu Hamzeh. A source from the Jaysh al-Islam said the killer of “the Sharia judge” Ouns Kweider (Abu Himam al-Shami) has been “punished.” There have also been reports of the death of the IS emir of the southern area of Damascus, Abu Siyah.