The Syrian Arab Army, together with its allies, entered the Hajar al-Aswad neighborhood and the Palestinian Yarmouk refugee camp – that after seven years since the al-Qaeda linked Nusra Front and the Islamic State have captured those territories. The capture of those territories effectively ends any control the Islamic State had in the Damascus surrounding areas. That said, the Islamist militants have managed to establish a broad network of tunnels with improvised explosive devices that make it increasingly hard on Assad’s forces to prepare the area for habitation. “The liberation of the Black Stone and surrounding Black Stone, as well as the camp, from the Islamic State and other terrorist groups. Thus, Damascus and its countryside will become a region completely free from terrorism,” a Syrian Army officer said.
“We have had some difficulty with the tunnels and the ground floors which were made by the Nusra Front (Al-Qaeda). Most of the booby traps and improvised explosive devices were found in every corner of every room in the areas, which was beyond imagination,” a Syrian field commander said.
The fierce battles that persisted for the last 32 days between the Syrian military and the Islamic State was clearly portrayed by the aftermath’ destruction, as residents entered the devastated neighborhoods to inspect the damage to their homes. One of the residents of Yarmouk, which houses the largest Palestinian community in the war-torn-country, emphasized that while the residents of the last bastion of the Islamic State that has fallen were Palestinians, their true loyalty lies with Syria that is perceived by them as their second home. “We are indigenous Palestinians, but we were born here, and Syria is our second country. We were born here and grew up here,” Palestinian resident of Yarmouk Abu Yazan said.