The Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) offensive in northern Homs continued today, with the latter targeting a number of militant strongholds in the city of Talbeiseh; this resulted in the death of a number of enemy combatants from the Al-Qaeda linked “Al-Nusra Front” (Jabhat Al-Nusra) and local rebel contingents that pledged allegiance to the Free Syrian Army (FSA).

According to a military source, the firefights in Talbeiseh have intensified over the last 4 days; the Syrian Arab Air Force (SAAF) is conducting a number of air raids on the Al-Nusra Front’s positions inside this imperative rebel-controlled city. He further added that the SAAF is utilizing very dense bombs in order to unearth the network of tunnels that the SAA Central Command believes is the lifeline for the militants inside Talbeiseh.

Also in northern Homs, the SAA – in coordination with the National Defense Forces (NDF) and Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) – attacked an Al-Nusra Front military garrison at Gharnaata, killing scores of militants on the ground, while the SAAF targeted the enemy combatants from the air. Gharnaata is located in the vicinity of Talbeiseh; this battle will be a focal point for the SAA, SSNP, and NDF in the coming days.

Fierce clashes were also reported in the northern part of the Homs Governorate at the villages of ‘Ayn Hussein Al-Jnoubi and Al-Zafrana between contingents from the SAA and Al-Nusra Front. Fighting is still ongoing, with both groups exchanging a barrage of gunfire and mortar shells in order to make strides on the ground.