The Syrian Arab Army’s 5th Armored Division – in coordination with the National Defense Forces (NDF) of Izra’a and the Palestine Liberation Army (PLA) – made several advances in the Dara’a Governorate’s northern countryside after making another push to reenter the strategic town of Sheikh Miskeen on Saturday morning.

According to a military source from the Syrian Arab Army’s 5th Armored Division, the latter and their allies captured the military housing compounds, the northern farms of Sheikh Miskeen, and the Water Resource Facility after a series of intense firefights with the Islamist rebels from the Free Syrian Army’s “Southern Front Brigades”.

Following the capture of the aforementioned sites in northern Dara’a, the Syrian Arab Army’s 5th Armored Division and their allies are now in position to launch an assault on the imperative rebel-held town of Sheikh Miskeen, marking the first time in over a year that the pro-government forces have reached its outskirts.

The Syrian Armed Forces and their allies have positioned themselves for a large-scale offensive in the Dara’a Governorate’s northern countryside; however, they have yet to begin their assault, despite surrounding several villages in the Dara’a Triangle, including the integral hilltop town of Tal Al-Harrah near the Al-Quneitra Governorate’s border.

Should the Syrian Arab Army’s 5th Armored Division capture the town of Sheikh Miskeen, they will be within 10km of the large city of Nawa that was captured by the Islamist rebels during their offensive last year.