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On April 29, ISIS-affiliated Jaysh Khalid ibn al-Walid launched a new attack on positions of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in the town of al-Sheikh Sa’d and the Jalin housing complex in the western Daraa countryside, according to the Syrian opposition news outlet Enab Baladi.
Enab Baladi said that Jaysh Khalid ibn al-Walid fighters had captured most of al-Sheikh Sa’d and the Jalin housing complex during the first hours of their attack. However, HTS and the FSA repelled the attack later recapturing all their positions. Dozens of fighters of Jaysh Khalid ibn al-Walid, HTS and the FSA were reportedly killed in the clashes.
Jaysh Khalid ibn al-Walid had launched several similar attacks over the past two months from its pocket in the western Daraa countryside, but had failed to capture any new positions.
Syrian opposition sources claimed that Jaysh Khalid ibn al-Walid was trying to reach the government-held areas around Daraa. Such a move would allow the besieged ISIS fighters south of Damascus to withdraw towards the Jaysh Khalid ibn al-Walid pocket in Daraa under an agreement with the Syrian government.
However, local observers believe that these claims are false, as the SAA positions are located more than 8km away from al-Sheikh Sa’d, which was attacked by Jaysh Khalid ibn al-Walid.
