In Syria, rebels and jihadists have launched a new attack in east Damascus. It happens two days after Syrian government forces repelled an initial assault. A rebel stated they had retaken ground in the Jobar district, but state media said the infiltration attempts had been foiled.
On Monday, warplanes carried out several strikes on rebel-held areas. The BBC reports that the fighting has left at least 38 pro-government fighters and 34 rebels and rebels dead. The head of the UK-based monitoring group, Rami Abdel Rahman, stated the rebel attack began with a big blast, most likely due to a car bomb attack.
The air force attacked the rebel positions, while rebels shelled the Abbasiyin and Tijara areas. The Islamist rebel faction Faylaq al-Rahman declared on Twitter that the second phase of the batle had begun. Another Islamist faction, Ahrar al-Sham, declared that its fighters had seized a textile factory.
More information about the attack
The army repelled Tuesday's attack on the Maghazel al-Naseej area of Jobar by what it stated were fighters from al-Nusra Front and other terrorists. On Sunday morning, fighters from different rebel factions, Tahrir al-Sham and other jihadists launched a surprise attack on a government-controlled part of Jobar. They captured an industrial area adjoining the rebel-held Qaboun district and reached Abbasiyin, just 1.2km north-east of the Old City. Government forces launched a strong counterattack and by Sunday the state media reported that they had regained the industrial area.
The government and rebels agreed to a cessation of hostilities in December, but both sides have accused each other of repeated violations. Not all groups are included in this truce in Syria, Tahrir al-Sham and the rival jihadist group, Islamic State, are excluded from this agreement. No less than 320,000 people have been killed and about 11 million have been displaced since the uprising against President Assad began six years ago.
