The Syrian army and the National Defense Fores (NDF) is developing the advance against Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda) and Ahrar Al-Sham in the Wadi Barada area northwest of the Syrian capital, Damascus.
Earlier this month, Jabhat Fatah al-Sham and Ahrar al-Sham militants rejected the withdrawal proposal by the Syrian government and polluted the Damascus water supply system with diesel.