Source: Jerusalem Post
By Seth J. Frantzman
Artillery and bombs rained down on Syrian rebel-held areas in southern Syria as the Assad regime ramped up its offensive against the rebels after years of relative quiet and cease-fire.
On Saturday, the first Russian air strikes in more than a year were carried out against rebel positions. The offensive, currently 20 kilometers from Israel’s Golan border, has the potential to cause spillover in the form of refugees or clashes. On Sunday, the IDF fired a Patriot missile at a drone near the Golan.
In mid-June, the Syrian regime and its allies, including Shi’ite militias aligned with Iran, began concentrating forces in southern Syria. The rebels hold a U-shaped area in southern Syria.
One side runs along the Golan Heights and the other stretches north from the Jordanian border. At the bottom of the “U” is Dara’a, a city next to the Jordanian border that the regime and the rebels have contested since the start of the rebellion in 2011.
Read more at: https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Concerns-raised-southern-Syrian-regime-offensive-may-spill-over-to-Israel-560732?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter