For the first time in years, Syrian insurgents have advanced on the outskirts of Damascus, demonstrating that they can take territory around the capital despite a long string of defeats around the country.
On the third day of fierce fighting Tuesday on the northeastern edge of Damascus, Islamist rebel groups and Qaeda-linked jihadists seized an industrial area about a mile from the historic Old City, seeking to connect the isolated rebel enclave of Qaboun with the larger swath of territory they control east of the city.
Plumes of smoke rose over the insurgent-held northeastern districts of Jobar and Qaboun as the government carried out scores of airstrikes, while rebel shells struck what are normally busy areas around Abasiyeen Square.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/21/w...scus.html?_r=0