BEIRUT, LEBANON (2:40 A.M.) – The first day of the Qalamoun offensive is in the books and the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and Hezbollah have succeeded in capturing a large chunk of this border region.
The offensive began at 10:30 P.M. (Damascus Time) on Thursday night, when a Hezbollah and Republican Guard group stormed the large hilltop of Tal Burkan in the Faleeta Barrens of rural Damascus.
Within a half hour of launching the attack, the Syrian Army and Hezbollah had successfully overrun the Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham militants and imposed full control over Tal Burkan.
Following the capture of Tal Burkan, the Syrian Army and Hezbollah took a short break until 5 A.M. the following morning, when they stormed a number of hilltops in the Faleeta Barrens.
The Syrian Armed Forces and Hezbollah managed to capture nine sites in the western Qalamoun region on Friday, killing and wounding at least 25 Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham fighters during the battle.
According to a Syrian government source, the Republican Guard and Hezbollah captured the following sites on Friday:
  • Tal Burkan (Syria)
  • Al-Karah Al-Awal (Syria)
  • Dalel Al-Hajj (Syria)
  • Harf Al-Sabeh (Syria)
  • Sahel Al-Rahweh (Lebanon)
  • Dahr Al-Haweh (Lebanon)
  • Wadi Daqiq (Lebanon)
  • Wadi Zarzour (Lebanon)
  • Taftanaz (Lebanon)
A Syrian government source in Damascus told Al-Masdar News on Friday night that their forces are attempting to pressure the HTS militants to surrender the territory they control in exchange for free passage to the Idlib Governorate.