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On July 22, fighters of the ISIS-affiliated Khalid ibn al-Walid Army repelled an attack of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) on their positions in the village of Jillen and the hills of Abu al-Jumu’a and Ashtrah in the western Daraa countryside, according to the ISIS-linked news agency Amaq.
The Khalid ibn al-Walid Army claimed that its fighters destroyed a battle tank and a shilka vehicle near Jillen and Abual-Jumu’a with anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) during the clashes. Furthermore, Amaq reported that a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (SVBIED) of the terrorist group targeted a gathering of SAA soldiers around Jillen.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that warplanes of the Syrian Arab Air Force (SyAAF) and the Russian Aerospace Forces conducted more than 1,900 airstrikes on positions of the Khalid ibn al-Walid Army over the last three days. More than 50 fighters of the ISIS-affiliated group were killed in these airstrikes, according to the pro-opposition monitoring group.
A source in the Tiger Forces denied Amaq claims and told SouthFront that the SAA and its allies have not launched their main ground attack on the Khalid ibn al-Walid Army yet. Syrian pro-government sources had said that former fighters of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) will participate in the upcoming attack.
