Captain Ismael Naddaf the military commander in the al-Shamia Front tells RFS Media Office:

We gained back most of the northern countryside areas from the Iranian and Afghan militias and we are moving towards Bashkoy

Assad regime and pro-regime militias took civilians as human shields and carried out summary executions against them

Civilians from Aleppo joined the battle and took up arms against the regime and they played a significant role in the latest victory

Ghiyath Hallaq the field commander in the al-Shamia Front tells RFS Media Office:

We recently thwarted regime forces’ attempts to infiltrate into the area and inflicted losses among their ranks

We are planning to drive ISIS outside Aleppo countryside and al-Raqqa

Aleppo countryside has witnessed new developments lately. What about them? What about the fronts against regime forces and ISIS in the countryside of Aleppo?

Free Syrian Army fighters, Captain Isma’el Naddaf from the al-Shamia Front, and Ghiyath Hallaq the field commander in the southern countryside, answer these questions in an interview with the Revolutionary Forces of Syria Media Office.

We met Captain Ismael Naddaf in the northern countryside front against the Assad regime.

What is the situation regarding the battlefronts against Assad regime, especially after regime’s latest attack?

Regime forces reinforced by Iranian and Afghan militias suddenly advanced in Rityan, Haradatneen, Dwer Azzeitoun and Bashkoy in order to reach Nubbol and al-Zahraa. However, Free Syrian Army fighters fought them back and gained back control of Rityan, Haradatneen and parts of Dwer Azzeitoun, and they are working on regaining Bashkoy.

How did the FSA return to these areas this fast? What are the battle’s details?

After mobilizing our forces, we headed towards Hardataneen from Maaresteh road, and we captured several regime troops and Shabiha militants. We interrogated them and it appeared that the infiltrating regime troops and Iranian and Afghan militants had advanced towards Rityan and Haradatneen so they can reach Nubbol and al-Zahraa. Therefore, we put an urgent and quick plan to stop their progress. The first phase of the plane was forming groups that would attack from the right side and the left side, in addition to the confrontation groups, in order to advance and spread at the frontlines that are close to the militias locations. We combed the area from Maaresteh towards Haradatneen until we reached the frontlines where the militias are positioned.

In the second phase, we put up a strong comprehensive plan to gain back Haradatneen and Rityan, and we actually did after battles that lasted for four days.

Now, we have a plan to take back Bashkoy through Dwer Azzeitoun, since we already regained vast parts of it, and we are actually surrounding Bashkoy and we will take it back soon. It is worth mentioning that the participation of civilians in fighting the regime and its supporting militias played a huge role in achieving victory.

Are there any civilians in these areas, and what did the FSA do to protect them?

The first information we received was that there were no civilians in Haradatneen, and people who had fled the area confirmed that. However, after making some communications it turned out that the regime had detained many civilians inside Haradatneen School to use them as human shields. That made us stop shelling the area in order to protect the civilians, and we managed to liberate them from the regime and pro-regime militias after fully liberating the village. In Rityan, unfortunately, the foreign pro-regime militias perpetrated a horrific massacre against nearly 50 civilians.

RFS Media Office met with the field commander Ghiyath Hallaq in the eastern countryside at battlefronts against ISIS:

Where are you positioned? What is the situation of the battlefronts against ISIS in the eastern countryside?

We are positioned at Souran-Ehtemlat front, around 700m away from the nearest ISIS base. At the moment, ISIS is located in the villages of Ehtemlat, al-Dahiriyeh, al-Adiyeh, Hor al-Naher, Dabeq and Tal Maled. The organization’s biggest base is in Ra’el where they run their main military operation room. Clashes take place at Souran front on daily bases and we constantly target ISIS locations with homemade weapons such as Jahannam laucnhers and mortar shells. Recently, they attempted to infiltrate into our areas at night but we stopped them and drove them back, and killed and injured some of their militants.

What are the latest military developments in the area?

ISIS is increasing its fortifications at the battle frontline from al-Dahiriyeh to Hor al-Naher. It is also using prefabricated rooms where it puts them in large holes in the ground and covers them with dirt so revolutionaries and Coalition fighter jets will not spot them.

How do you plan to fight ISIS attempts to advance in the area and what are your future plans? How do you act in times of pressure?

When ISIS militants attempt to advance, they face our ambushes all the time. Now we are putting a master plan to force the organization outside the northern countryside and al-Raqqa. When it comes to pressure, we have central forces stationed in the northern countryside in order to offer reinforcement to any area that is under pressure. Therefore, we contain the situation at full speed.