Syrian Army restarts military operations in NE Latakia: Al-Souda village and 3 points captured

The Syrian Arab Army’s 103rd Brigade of the Republican Guard restarted their operations in the northeastern Latakia on Sunday after a two week long hiatus due to the recent transfer of military personnel to the Palmyra (Tadmur) front in east Homs. Before they could begin their operations, the Syrian Armed Forces had to repel a powerful assault by the Syrian Al-Qaeda group “Jabhat Al-Nusra” at the important mountaintop of Jabal Al-Qal’at, which is located to the west of Kinsibba. The Syrian Armed Forces were able to push back the Al-Qaeda faction towards the Aleppo-Latakia Highway, but not before the government forces captured 4 of their militants at the western perimeter of Jabal Qal’at. Following Nusra’s failed assault, the Syrian Arab Army’s 103rd Brigade – backed by the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP), the National Defense Forces (NDF), and the 48th Special Forces Regiment – launched a wide-scale assault in northeastern Latakia, striking several points and villages in Jabal Al-Akrad (Kurdish Mountains). The Syrian Armed Forces were able to first capture the village of Al-Souda after a violent battle with Jabhat Al-Nusra and Jaysh Al-Turkmen (Turkmen Army). Not long after capturing Al-Souda, the Syrian Armed Forces imposed full control over points 287, 397, and 409 in the Kurdish Mountains, marking the first time the government forces have advanced in northeastern Latakia in over 2 weeks.