Jaish Osoud al-Sharqiya, key rebel group fighting regime forces and ISIS in Syrian Badia, said it has freed army pilot was taken captive two weeks after shooting down his jet near Jordan's border.
Thirty more regime soldiers have been released in a prisoner swap deal. The regime 'vowed' to release 100 detainees including women, held by its security services as well to allow aid entry to the deserted Rukaban camp at the Jordanian border. In mid August, Osoud al-Sharqiya shot down MIG-21 fighter jet in the eastern countryside of Sweida province and arrested Lieutenant Colonel Ali al-Hilo. The US-backed group said the release was due to 'huge' pressure by regional and International powers which also demanded to end regime fighting and to launch attacks on ISIS instead.
In a joint statement issued on Wednesday, Ahmed Abdo Martyrs Forces and Osoud al-Sharqiya urged fellow rebel factions to launch attacks on regime forces in Qalamoun and Daraa to lessen the offensive in Badia as the regional plan is to strengthen Assad in Badia amid reports of 'positive' approaches between Amman and Damascus. Ahmed Abdo Martyrs Forces said the ultimate goal of the Assad army's push in al-Badia was to link its forces with Iraq's militias on the other side of the border. The Damascus-Baghdad highway was a major weapons supply route for Iranian weapons into Syria until ISIS seized large territory along the Iraqi-Syrian border, according to regional intelligence sources. The statement come as the regime army and Shi'ite militias pressed gains at the border.
Regime-run Al Masdar news site said on Wednesday that forces loyal to Assad ''secured the border points of Garrison 165, Garrison 166, Garrison 167, Garrison 168 and 169.'' Since May, the regime army has been moving large numbers of troops to Badia region on the country's border with Iraq and Jordan. Last month, Jaish al-Ashaer, the Army of Tribes, withdrew from its posts in Badia near Suweida city, in a surprise move granted regime army more territory.
