On Friday morning in the Aleppo Governorate’s southern countryside, the Syrian Arab Army’s 4th Mechanized Division – in coordination with Hezbollah, the National Defense Forces (NDF) of Aleppo City, Harakat Al-Nujaba (Iraqi paramilitary) and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) – launched a surprise assault on Jabhat Al-Nusra’s (Syrian Al-Qaeda group) defensive positions at the village of Burj Al-Rouman.

Following a morning of intense firefights with the Islamist rebels of Jabhat Al-Nusra, Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham, and Harakat Nouriddeen Al-Zinki, the Syrian Armed Forces and their allies broke-through the enemy’s defenses and imposed full control over Burj Al-Rouman; this attack resulted in the death of over 20 enemy combatants and the destruction of 6 armored vehicles that were mounted with a wide variety of anti-aircraft machine guns.

The village of Burj Al-Rouman is imperative to the security of the Khanasser-Aleppo Highway; it was used as a launching point for the Islamist rebels – particularly Jabhat Al-Nusra and Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham – to close the Syrian Arab Army’s only supply route to the provincial capital of the Aleppo Governorate.

Not long after they imposed full control over Burj Al-Rouman, the Syrian Armed Forces and their allies advanced to the village of Al-‘Umariyah, which is situated to the southwest of the Syrian Government stronghold of Al-Safira.