Last year, the Syrian Arab Army’s 15th Brigade of the 5th Armored Division was forced to retreat from Sheikh Miskeen in the Dara’a Governorate’s northern countryside after a failed offensive that ended with the Islamist rebels of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and Jabhat Al-Nusra (Syrian Al-Qaeda group) imposing full control over this strategic town and the large city of Nawa.

In October of this year, the tide began to turn for the Syrian Armed Forces, as the arrival of Russian aerial assets and several thousand Iranian and Iraqi soldiers helped propel the latter along several fronts in northern Syria; this would later pave the way for the counter-offensive in northern Dara’a.

The Syrian Arab Army’s 15th Brigade – in coordination with the National Defense Forces (NDF) of Izra’a – slowly crept their way back to Sheikh Miskeen, capturing several sites located along the town’s northern countryside while the Islamist rebels of the Free Syrian Army watched helplessly from their defensive posts.

Earlier today, the Syrian Arab Army’s 15th Brigade and their allies renewed their offensive at Sheikh Miskeen, attacking the northern and eastern flanks of the town while the Syrian Arab Air Force (SAAF) provides air cover for their advancing troops on the ground.

Currently, there have been no reported sites captured; however, a military source from the 5th Division’s base in Izra’a has asserted that the Syrian Arab Army and their allies are on the move and pushing towards the entrance of the town.