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The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) resumed its military operations in the heavily fortified area of al-Safa, north of the governorate of al-Suwayda, and recaptured 500m2 from ISIS, a source in the SAA told SouthFront on October 27.
The al-Suwayda 24 blog reported a day earlier that ISIS fighters targeted several positions of the SAA around al-Safa with sniper rifles and a heavy machine gun. In response to these attacks, the army artillery shelled several positions of the terrorist group inside the area.
On October 17, a ceasefire was imposed in al-Safa as a part of agreement between the Damascus government and ISIS. Russia and the U.S. are reportedly playing a role in the agreement, which will force ISIS to withdraw from the area and to release around 20 civilian hostages, who were abducted during a brutal attack in late July.
The SAA may have resumed its military operations in al-Safa, because ISIS is attempting to back off from the agreement by violating the ceasefire. The terrorist group released six hostages on October 20. However, it is yet to release a second batch.
