Jaish al-Fatah (Army of Conquest) commander Abu Hussein al-Jabalawy has told Al-Souria Net: "The bombardment on the city of Qardaha in the countryside of Lattakia will not stop until the siege on the city of Zabadani in the countryside of Damascus is broken, which witnesses violent clashes between opposition forces on the one hand, and regime forces and Hezbollah militia on the other, for the past 24 days ".
"Jaish al-Fatah targeted Qardaha with rockets and artillery shells for the last two days, and the upcoming days will witness further bombardment on the city. Opposition forces targeting regime forces in Lattakia can reach many villages and positions of the National Defense Forces and Hezbollah militias", Jabalawy explained.
"The Second Division of the Free Army, which includes Turkmen fighters, participates in the bombing of Qardaha", said activist Abdullah Ahmad, who accompanies the Second Division. "The opposition not only uses Grad missiles in the shelling, but also rockets with a range of more than 30 km. Some of them have reached the Basnada area on the outskirts of the city of Lattakia", said Ahmad.
"The ammunition needed is available in the coming days. The shelling of pro-regime villages aims at easing the siege on Zabadani", Ahmad added.
The shelling on Qardaha has raised the ire of regime supporters, as they see pro-Assad fighters are no longer unable to face opposition forces.
An opposition activist from Lattakia said, "the continuous bombardment of Qardaha would increase discontent among regime supporters, especially as Alawites are already suffering from the deteriorating economic conditions, and from successive losses suffered by the regime's army in the north and south of Syria"
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
