With the rural area taken, Syrian Army concentrates efforts on East Ghouta towns

EAST GHOUTA, Syria – With the Syrian Army launching a successful campaign against terrorist forces in East Ghouta to the east of Damascus city center, the pro-government forces concentrated most of their efforts in the farmlands of the region.

However, because of the blistering operation against terrorist organizations, most particularly the Jaish al-Islam outfit, the Syrian Army are yet to capture a major town in East Ghouta.

The main towns of the region are Harasta, Irbin and Jobar on the western flank of the besieged pocket, and Duma in the northern sector of the pocket.

We can expect the rapid advancement seen in the first weeks of this operation begin to slow as the pro-government forces must now contend with urban warfare rather then being in an open setting.

This also means they will begin battling other terrorist organizations, most particularly Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra, Ahrar al-Sham and the Free Syrian Army affiliate Faylaq al-Rahman.