The battle for Darayya in the Western Ghouta (collection of farms) of the Rif Dimashq Governorate has recently intensified between the Syrian Armed Forces and the Islamist rebels from Ajnad Al-Sham and Liwaa Al-Shuhada Al-Islam, as the pro-government forces continue their large-scale offensive inside this strategic city.

On Saturday afternoon, the Syrian Arab Army’s Special Forces – in coordination with the National Defense Forces (NDF) of Damascus City and the Syrian Arab Army’s female brigade of the Republican Guard – broke-through the Islamist rebel defenses inside the Al-Shayah District of Darayya and imposed full control over the imperative Al-‘Arabiya Neighborhood that sits on the main road to Al-Mo’adhimiyah in rural west Damascus.

According to a military source from the National Defense Forces inside Damascus City, the Syrian Armed Forces were able to take control of the Al-‘Arabiya Neighborhood in the Al-Shayah District after they destroyed the main Ajnad Al-Sham HQ building along the Darayya-Mo’adhimiyah Road; this powerful assault also led the Syrian Armed Forces to take control of 50% of this district.

In addition to their success along the Darayya-Mo’adhimiyah Road, the Syrian Armed Forces were able to capture several building blocks surrounding the Darayya National Hospital in the Darayya Association Quarter, which is located at the western sector of the city.

The Syrian Arab Army’s Special Forces have already began their assault on Ajnad Al-Sham’s defensive positions in the Darayya Association Quarter, as they look to recover the territory they lost to the Islamist rebels in early September of this year.