Unknown gunmen target government forces in Syria’s Daraa
DARRA, Syria (North Press) – Two unidentified gunmen, riding a motorcycle, targeted on Thursday a police car of Syrian government forces in the eastern countryside of Daraa Governorate, southern Syria, causing casualties.
A local source told North Press that three policemen were killed in the attack that took place near the town of Khirbat Ghazaleh, in the eastern countryside of Daraa.
The killed police men are Khaled Shofni, Alaa Qarada and Khaled Abduljalil, according to the source.
As a result of the clashes that took place, one of the gunmen Omran Suleiman al-Rajih, who used to be a militant in the ranks of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front) was killed, the source added.
Then, the government forces installed a temporary checkpoint in the location and started examining civilians’ cars in an attempt to uncover those who organized the attack, the source said.
In July 2018, the opposition armed faction and the government forces reached a ceasefire agreement mediated by Russia in the opposition-held areas in Daraa. Under the deal, the opposition armed factions agreed to hand over their heavy weapons in exchange for staying in Daraa, and those oppose the agreement would go to Idlib, which is under the control of the HTS.
Since the government forces re-captured Daraa in line with the 2018 agreement, the governorate has been living in a state of security chaos, with one or two daily assassinations targeting soldiers and officers of the government forces, not to mention the spread of thefts.
Recently, the Eighth Brigade, affiliated with the military intelligence of the government forces, raided a number of towns in the eastern countryside of Daraa, in search for people involved in drug trade.