NOVANEWS
Jaysh al-Islam along with several US-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) groups are preparing to launch a new military operation against the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies in the southern governorate of Daraa, the Syrian pro-opposition news outlet Enab Baladi reported on March 11.
The media outlet revealed that the attack’s goal will be to besiege the SAA and its allies in the city of Daraa and to cut off the Daraa-Damascus highway. The government-held towns of Mahajjah and Izra in northern Daraa will be a target of the US-backed FSA during the first phase of the attack, according to Enab Baladi.
Other Syrian opposition sources said that the FSA attack will be a response to the ongoing SAA operation in the East Ghouta region and hoped that it will help militants there.
Local sources reported that the FSA is already massing their forces around the Daraa-Damascus highway. Civilians have also begun to flee the area ahead of the upcoming attack.
Southern Syria, including Daraa governorate, is a part of a de-escalation agreement between Russia and the US. The agreement will likely collapse once the US-backed FSA launch its attack against the SAA there.
The US-backed FSA in Daraa governorate has received loads of weapons and ammo from the US, Jordan and Israel recently, according to Syrian pro-government sources. Due to this, it is possible that the attack will achieve some success just like the last attack of the FSA in Daraa which took place in February-June 2017.
Back then, the FSA received huge support from the US, which had supplied it with dozens of TOW ATGMs and Switchblade suicide drones. Jordan even went further and flew its unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over the provincial capital to support the FSA.
The US-backed FSA will likely receive a similar level of support, if not higher in any upcoming attack especially from Jordan and Israel.
