Earlier today, militants from the Al-Qaeda linked Al-Nusra Front (Jabhat Al-Nusra) stormed Al-Zahra and Nubl, attacking these areas from 3 axes in the hopes of infiltrating Hezbollah (Party of God) and National Defense Forces (NDF) positions at the eastern perimeter of these predominately Shi’I villages in the Aleppo Governorate.

The Al-Nusra Front militants attempted to use an arsenal of heavy weaponry to breakthrough Hezbollah and NDF defenses; it was initially successful, as they were able to infiltrate past the latter’s checkpoint into the village of Nubl. The Al-Nusra Front would make their way to the 1st Roundabout before they were confronted by a large NDF contingent that caught the enemy combatants’ off-guard.

The NDF and Hezbollah fighters were able to repel 2 out of the 3 Al-Nusra Front attacks from the east and northeast perimeters of Nubl, after the Syrian Arab Air Force (SAAF) delivered multiple airstrikes on enemy positions in the neighboring villages of Hayyan and Maayer; this resulted in a lack of reinforcements to replenish the enemy forces on the frontlines.

Following the persistent aerial bombardments from the SAAF, the NDF and Hezbollah fighters were able to capture 3 T-52 tanks on the outskirts of Nubl. These T-52 tanks were imperative in the Al-Nusra Front’s initial gains – the origin of these tanks is unknown. According to an NDF source, at least 50 Al-Nusra Front militants were killed during today’s battle, including a number of foreigners from Chechnya and Kazakhstan. He also added that only 1 axes is facing heavy bombardment from the enemy combatants, currently.