The battle for Sheikh Miskeen intensified over the weekend with both the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and Jabhat Al-Nusra making gains in the surrounding area. The SAA’s 175th Brigade of the 5th Division opened the weekend with their own surprise in the village of Dilli (north of Sheikh Miskeen) by launching an attack Friday night on Jabhat Al-Nusra positions, forcing the latter to retreat southwest after their forces were overran. Following the Jabhat Al-Nusra retreat, the village of Dilli was declared under SAA control around 5 A.M. Saturday morning.

To not be outdone, the 12th Brigade of the 5th Division, backed by the National Defense Forces (NDF), was able to push the Syrian Revolutionary Forces (SRF) out of the village of Tal ‘Areed after fierce clashes on Sunday. Tal ‘Areed is located north of Dilli near the border of the Rif Dimashq Governorate, where the SAA and rebel forces are engaged in violent firefights to take control of the Damascus-Baghdad International Highway.

At Battalion 82, Liwaa Seif Allah (Sword of God Brigades) continues to besiege this base after infiltrating from the west. The rebel forces have secured the western sector of the base, while the SAA controls the rest of the area, despite possessing no route for retreat. The SAA soldiers are relying on airdropped supplies to hold onto the base long enough for their comrades to retake Sheikh Miskeen and the lost area near the city.

On Sunday, the SAA’s 12th Brigade of the 5th Division ambushed a large Jabhat Al-Nusra contingent in the North District of Sheikh Miskeen, killing and injuring over 20 of their fighters. The ambush came from the northern outskirts of the city where the SAA is currently operating – Jabhat Al-Nusra continues to control all of the West and North Districts; and parts of the East and South Districts.

Identified Jabhat Al-Nusra fighters killed over the weekend in Dara’a:

1. Ayhaab Rassim Fadel ‘Abdrabah

2. Rami Ahmad Al-‘Amaar

3. Amjad Jameel Al-Khateeb

4. ‘Imad Moussa Al-As’ad

5. Mohammad Bassaam Al-Taliyya Al-Matar

6. ‘Abdel-Salaam Al-‘Abeedi

7. ‘Azaaladeen ‘Ameer Al-Kharassan

8. ‘Abdel-Hameed Mohammad Al-Hammeed

9. Maher Fahmi Al-‘Abbas

10. ‘Alaa Tawbrash

11. Qusay ‘Awad Al-Farah

12. ‘Ibrahim ‘Abdel-Hameed ‘Ghoujjan

13. Faysal ‘Ayyoub Al-Jabaawi

14. Mohammad Saleem Al-‘Alawa

15. Monahel Faysal Al-Jawaad

16. Hussein Khalil Al-Ghabeena

17. ‘Abdel-Hakeem Al-Khateeb

18. Mohammad Hassan Al-Jabar

19. Ahmad Qaassim Al-Shalabi

20. ‘Abdel-Rahman Ahmad Al-Kurdi

21. Ghazi ‘Ameer Al-Mahmoud