On Monday morning, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) – in coordination with the National Defense Forces (NDF) and Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) – captured the fourth hilltop at Jubb Al-Ahmar after destroying a Jabhat Al-Nusra (Syrian Al-Qaeda group) hideout on top of the Prophet Younis Mountains of northeastern Latakia.

According to a military source in Latakia, the Syrian Armed Forces captured the hilltop at Tal SyriaTal, where they killed as many as 20 enemy combatants from Jabhat Al-Nusra, the Free Syrian Army’s “Coastal Brigades” and Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham before they imposed control over this hill near the peak of Jubb Al-Ahmar in the Prophet Younis Mountain range.

However, the good news was welcomed with some unsettling news from the Syrian Arab Army’s Central Command: the soldiers participating in this offensive at the Prophet Younis Mountains were ordered to stand their ground and halt their advance, despite the rapid progress they made over the last 36 hours at this front.

The reason for the stoppage of this offensive was not provided to Al-Masdar News; however, a military source did add that the assault is bound to begin in the coming hours, as the soldiers from the Syrian Arab Army and National Defense Forces sit idly near Jubb Al-Ahmar.

In addition to their assault on Jubb Al-Ahmar, the Syrian Armed Forces are attempting to recapture the contested town of Al-Bahsa, which is currently 60 percent under their control; this battle has become the focal point for the SAA’s Central Command in the Al-Ghaab Plains of northwestern Hama.