The Syrian Arab Army’s 4th Mechanized Division surprised the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) with an assault on their positions inside the town of Kafr Tunah and the small mountaintop at Jabal ‘Antar in the Aleppo Governorate’s northeastern countryside.

According to a military source in the provincial capital of Aleppo, the Syrian Arab Army’s 4th Mechanized Division – in coordination with the National Defense Forces (NDF) – carried out a successful assault on the terrorist group’s poor defenses in Kafr Tunah and Jabal ‘Antar, killing over 20 enemy combatants and seizing a large cache of assault rifles and ammunition in the process.

Following a brief firefight with the terrorist group, the Syrian Armed Forces imposed full control over Kafr Tunah and Jabal ‘Antar; this forced the unprepared ISIS militants to retreat north towards the Aleppo Infantry Academy in order to evade the Syrian Arab Air Force’s Hind Helicopter Gunships that were lurking around this rural area.

Kafr Tunah and Jabal ‘Antar are both located northeast of the Sheikh Najjar Industrial District; this aforementioned site in the provincial capital of Aleppo was captured from the Islamist rebels during the Syrian Arab Army’s large-scale offensive last year that was dubbed “Operation Northern Storm.”

ISIS’ recent success at the Aleppo Infantry Academy has left the Syrian Arab Army on high alert due to the aforementioned site’s proximity to the densely populated provincial capital; if the terrorist group were to enter Aleppo City, it would be through the Sheikh Najjar Industrial District.