The Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) launched a powerful assault on the Syrian Armed Forces’ defensive positions at the village of Al-Hawa, where they attempted to repeatedly break-through the latter’s frontlines and capture this area in the Homs Governorate’s eastern countryside.

However, the terrorist group ran into the Syrian Armed Forces’ well-fortified barriers that encompass the village of Al-Hawa, leaving the ISIS combatants stuck in the open while they would try to evade the rapid gunfire and mortar shells that were fired by the soldiers guarding the contested area.

According to a military source in the Homs Governorate, the ISIS combatants also attempted to sneak past the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and National Defense Forces’ (NDF) frontline fortifications at the nearby villages of Rahoum and Umm Sahreej; however, they were once again unsuccessful, as the Syrian Armed Forces were able to repel all of the terrorist group’s infiltration attempts.

The source further added that the terrorist group suffered two dozen casualties during their large-scale assault on the village of Al-Hawa; this includes a number of foreign nationals from the countries of Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Libya, and Iraq.

ISIS is targeting this area of the Homs Governorate in order to expand their territorial influence, while also capturing the key highways that lead to the provincial capital of Homs.