SITREP 04DEC24 SYRIA

Northern Homs Operational Overview

Rebels are advancing in Homs' eastern corridor, seizing the 66th and 87th Brigades, the Army Ammunition Depot, and the Mechanized Training School in the past 48 hours. If Homs falls, it will be the first time since the outbreak of the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that this city comes under rebel control. The Shaheen drone has been playing a major role in the current campaign.

Assad's forces are holding out in the Zayin Al-Badeedn Mountain and nearby military forward operating bases, which host Iranian-backed Shi'a militants. The drones have bombed a large number of helicopters at the Hama airport, historically used to drop the infamous barrel bombs on civilian populations. The airport also hosts one-way unmanned vehicle manufacturing sites, and to the west of it lies another manufacturing center where the Russians and Iranians have collaborated with the regime to build weaponry.

It is hard to see how Hama will not fall into the hands of the rebels. This blitz has taken me by surprise.