Rebel forces were caught completely off-guard overnight when hundreds of ISIS militants infiltrated the southwestern countryside of Daraa, capturing 5 sites (2 towns, 2 villages and 1 hill) in a huge blitz offensive in the region.

After initially targeting the towns of Tseil (Tasil) and Sahm Al-Joulan (Saham al-Jawlan), the ISIS-affiliated ‘Jaysh Khaled bin Waleed’ continued to attack and subsequently impose full control over the villages of Jellen (Jaylan), Adwan (Edwan), and the Al-Jomuaa hill on Monday morning.

The sites were reportedly poorly defended after Ha’yat Tahrir al-Sham (jihadist coalition) and Southern Front (Islamist coalition) redeployed hundreds of rebel fighters to Daraa city in recent weeks for its ‘death over humiliation’ offensive against the Syrian Arab Army (SAA).

If one is to believe Amaq Agency, 20 rebel fighters were killed during the advances.

Effectively, ISIS is now less than 10 kilometers from reaching government-held areas in Daraa province and some 15 kilometers from the provincial capital of Daraa.

Now, the two rebel coalitions must either call off their Daraa city offensive against the SAA or face the looming possibility of conceding more villages to ISIS in the hours to come.

ISIS controls a small enclave along the border with Israel and Jordan that is not directly connected to the Islamic State mainland. This area is composed of around 20 towns and villages under Jaysh Khaled bin Waleed command.

In March 2016, ISIS launched an offensive on the very same villages and towns but was kicked back by rebel forces the next month.

Jaysh Khaled bin Waleed was formed after the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade and the Islamic Muthanna Movement merged last year. These groups defected from the Syrian Opposition in 2014. </s> BEIRUT, LEBANON (10:00 P.M.) – For the first time since 2014, Syria’s entire border with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights has been declared militant-free after both the rebel and Islamic State (ISIS) fighters conceded their last positions.

According to a military report from the Daraa Governorate, the Syrian Arab Army’s 4th Armored Division was able to seize the Islamic State’s last border points this afternoon, following a fierce battle with the terrorist group’s Jaysh Khaled bin Walid faction.

Meanwhile, at the Shajarah front, the Syrian Arab Army’s Tiger Forces branch overpowered the remaining Islamic State terrorists at this key town, resulting in the capture of the latter’s last major stronghold in the Daraa Governorate.

With the border of the occupied Golan Heights cleared and Shajarah liberated, the Syrian Arab Army is on the verge of seizing the last 50 square kilometers of territory that is still under the occupation of the Jaysh Khaled bin Walid forces.

Once this last Islamic State pocket is cleared, the Syrian Arab Army will have full control of the Yarmouk Basin region and the entire Daraa Governorate for the first time since 2011.
The ISIL-affiliated Syrian opposition group Jaysh Khaled bin Waleed overwhelms Tahrir al-Sham and Southern Front militants, capturing the towns of Tasil and Saham al-Jawlan, along with two other villages and a hill in Daraa Governorate.