The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and the National Defense Forces (NDF) have repelled a joint advance of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Ahrar al-Sham and Faylaq al-Rahman in the Eastern Ghouta de-escalation zone, near Damascus.
On November 14, the militants attacked the Armored Vehicle Base near the village of Harsta from the northern and eastern directions and used a car bomb to break the SAA defense there. They failed to achieve their goal. SAA Major General Walid Khawashqi was killed during the clashes.
The so-called opposition sees the expected defeat of ISIS as a threat to its security because it would allow the SAA to focus on the militant-held pockets across Syria.