Monday morning in east Syria got off to a rather violent start, as the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) – alongside the National Defense Forces (NDF) and Al-Ba’ath Battalions – encountered the enemy combatants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) at a number of cities and villages in the provinces of Deir Ezzor, Homs, and Al-Hasakah.

Al-Hasakah

With the provincial capital of Al-Hasakah (southern sector; north is controlled by the YPG) under their full control, the Syrian Arab Army’s 154th and 123rd Brigades of the Syrian Arab Army – in coordination with the National Defense Forces, Al-Ba’ath Battalions, and Gozarto Protection Forces (joint Assyrian militias) restarted operations at Al-Dawoudiyah, where they conducted a fierce assault on the militants of ISIS inside the town’s northwestern perimeter on Monday morning.

In addition to their assault on Al-Dawoudiyah, the Syrian Armed Forces targeted an ISIS contingent on the Al-Abyad-Al-Hasakah Road, killing a confirmed 9 enemy combatants, including a Lebanese ISIS member identified as “‘Abdel-Hakeem Bashir Al-‘Abdullah” and a Syrian member from Al-Hasakah identified “Hussein Nour al-Deen Qabbani.”

To counter the Syrian Armed Forces’ assault in the south, the militants from ISIS launched their own attack on the ‘Abdel-‘Aziz Mountains to the west of the provincial capital; however, the assault has yet to yield any success for the terrorist group, as ongoing clashes are still being reported at the southern outskirts of these mountains.

Deir Ezzor

Monday morning in the Deir Ezzor Governorate has been a little more than the Al-Hasakah front, as a number of firefights were reported between the aforementioned and the Syrian Armed Forces at the Al-Jubeileh, Al-Rashidiyah, Al-Kanamat, Al-Haweeqa, Sheikh Yasseen, Al-Husseiniyeh, and the Industrial Quarters of the provincial capital.

The Syrian Arab Army’s 113th Tank Brigade – in coordination with the 137th Artillery Brigade of the 17th Reserve Division – carried out a powerful assault on the militants of ISIS at the Al-Jubeileh Quarter on Monday morning, killing a confirmed 6 enemy combatants and wounding another 2 members of ISIS during their operations inside the provincial capital.

In conjunction with their assault on Al-Jubeileh, the Syrian Arab Army’s 104th Airborne Brigade of the Republican Guard – in coordination with the National Defense Forces – conducted their own operation to cutoff ISIS’ main supply line from the Al-Husseiniyeh Quarter; however, fighting is still ongoing, with both sides unwilling to yield any territory to the other.

ISIS responded to the Syrian Armed Forces’ aggressiveness with an assault of their own at the villages of Al-Jafra and Al-Muri’iyah, where they attempted to advance their frontline positions in the direction of the Deir Ezzor Military Airport – firefights are still being reported at these villages, but no advancements have been confirmed for either side.

East Homs

Similar to the Deir Ezzor battle, ISIS targeted a number of sites under the Syrian Armed Forces’ control on Monday morning, attacking the towns of Jazal, Al-Furqalas, Al-Qareetan, and Jubb Al-Jarrah in the eastern Homs countryside.

The control of the Jazal gas fields and the town of Jazal has become the focal point for both the militants of ISIS and the Syrian Armed Forces, as this area of eastern Homs is strategically located directly north of the ancient city of Palmyra and directly northeast of the vital Tiyas Military Airbase; these sites are important to the Syrian Arab Army’s Central Command due to their proximity to the provincial capital of Homs and the city of Al-Salamiyah in east Hama.

As of now, the Syrian Armed Forces enjoy control of both the town of Jazal and the strategic gas field; however, ISIS launched a vicious attack at this site on Monday morning, with the hope of capturing this territory from the Syrian Armed Forces.

At Farqalas and Al-Qareetan, the militants of ISIS are attempting to breach the National Defense Forces’ frontline fortifications at these two towns located only 35km away from the provincial capital of Homs; this will be another imperative battle to watch over the course of this week, as ISIS’ success could spell trouble for the Syrian Armed Forces entrenched in the provincial capital.