For the last eight days, the Syrian Arab Army’s 3rd Armored and 11th Tank Divisions have been engaged in a fierce battle with the Islamist rebels from the Free Syrian Army (FSA), Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham, and the Syrian Al-Qaeda group “Jabhat Al-Nusra” inside the strategic town of Tayr Ma’lat, as the pro-government forces continue their large-scale offensive in northern Homs.

Earlier this week, the Syrian Arab Army’s 3rd and 11th Divisions – in coordination with the National Defense Forces (NDF) from Homs City and Kataebat Al-Ba’ath (Al-Ba’ath Battalions) – captured the southern district of Tayr Ma’lat after taking control of the army compounds, the Association Neighborhood, and the Bedouin Neighbored.

However, following their successful campaign to capture the southern district, the Syrian Armed Forces ran into the stiff defenses of Jabhat Al-Nusra and the Free Syrian Army at the town-center, where the battle’s frontlines are currently placed; this site has been the scene of the Homs Governorate’s most intense firefights over the last 72 hours.

If the Syrian Armed Forces are successful in this military endeavor, they will have access to the imperative city of Al-Ghantu’s southern countryside and a larger presence inside the Al-Rastan Plains; but, they will still have a long way to go before they are fully able to recover the several checkpoints along the Homs-Hama Highway.