On Friday morning, the Syrian Arab Army’s 67th Brigade of the 18th Tank Division – in coordination with the SAA’s “Qawat Al-Nimr” (Tiger Forces) and “Liwaa Suqour Al-Sahra” (Desert Hawks Brigade) – carried out a powerful assault on the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham’s (ISIS) defensive positions around the eastern countryside of the Homs Governorate, killing scores of enemy combatants before they were able to recapture a number of points from the aforementioned.

The Syrian Armed Forces began their assault at the southern flank of Jazal, where they conducted a clean-up operation around this rugged town and its nearby gas fields to the west after the Syrian Arab Air Force (SAAF) pounded the militants from ISIS with relentless airstrikes that specifically targeted their ground movements and supply routes on Friday morning.

Following their success at the town of Jazal, the Syrian Armed Forces advanced their frontlines to the Western Groves of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, where they were able to overpower the militants of ISIS with a intense infantry assault; this paved the way for the Syrian Arab Army’s 550th Brigade and the National Defense Forces (NDF) to capture the Western Groves after a two hour firefight with ISIS.

With the Syrian Arab Army and National Defense Forces advancing from the western and northern flanks, the militants from ISIS have moved to the defensive for the first time in two months at the city of Palmyra; if they are unable to forestall the Syrian Armed Forces’ progression, they will eventually face heavy resistance at Mount Qasoun to the west and Al-‘Amariyah to the north of the city.