A day after the killing of 21 members of “4th Division” in western Daraa | IED explosion targets military vehicle of “State Security”, leaving five people dead and wounded
Daraa Governorate – Syrian Observatory for Human Rights:
SOHR activists say that an IED exploded in a military vehicle belonging to the regime’s State Security on the road of the national hospital near the city of Jassim, north of Daraa, killing one member of the regime forces and injuring four others.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has monitored this morning new military reinforcement brought in by regime forces and 4th Division to their positions in the “Al-Rai Foundation” on the eastern outskirts of the town of Al-Muzayrib, as tanks, military and logistical materials and soldiers arrived in the area during the last hours. This follows great human losses inflicted on the members of 4th Division and regime intelligence after they were ambushed by a group of a former leader of opposition factions between Al-Muzayrib and al-Yadoda. Meanwhile, tense calm prevails throughout the region with a high alert by all sides.
Yesterday, SOHR activists documented a spike in the number of fatalities in an ambush nearby Al-Muzayreb town in western Daraa, as 21 members of regime intelligence service and 4th Division have been killed. The death toll is expected to rise further as the ambush left five soldiers injured, some seriously.
Yesterday morning, SOHR activists documented the death of 12 members of regime intelligence service and 4th Division in an ambush by gunmen affiliated to a former opposition commander called “Abu Tariq Al-Subaihi” nearby Al-Muzayreb town in the western countryside of Daraa. Violent clashes erupted between regime members and the attackers, while regime forces sent large military reinforcement to the area.
It is worth noting that Al-Muzayreb town in rural Daraa is free of regime forces and it is completely under the control of ex-fighters of opposition factions. The town also experienced dramatic developments a few weeks ago, before an agreement was reached under Russia’s sponsorship and guarantees on January 26.
SOHR sources reported earlier in the same day that regime security services attempted to storm the headquarters of “Abu Tariq Al-Subaihi”, a former opposition commander who is responsible for the killing of nine members of regime security services in an attack on Al-Muzayreb police outpost in early May 2020. According to SOHR sources, fierce clashes erupted between the commander and several gunmen from the area on one hand, and security groups affiliated to regime forces which attempted to storm the ex-commander’s headquarters in an area between Al-Yadoudah and Al-Muzayreb towns in the western countryside of Daraa on the other.
The clashes left casualties on both sides, amid growing security tension in the area. Meanwhile, regime forces fired several rockets on the area, just after the violent clashes.
Since the beginning of the security chaos in Daraa in early June 2019, Syrian Observatory activists have documented more than 960 attacks and assassination attempts by gunfire and detonations of IEDs, motorcycle-bombs and car-bombs. These attacks and assassinations claimed the lives of 645 persons, categorised as follows:
- 177 civilians, including 12 women and 17 children
- 301 regime soldiers, loyalists and collaborators with regime security services
- 117 fighters of factions that struck “reconciliation and settlements” deals with the regime and became in the ranks of regime’s security branches, including former commanders
- 23 Syrian militiamen affiliated to the Lebanese Hezbollah and Iranian forces
- 26 members of the so-called 5th Corps which was established by Russia.