Assault on Maaloula

On September 4th 2013, Al-Nusra affiliated militants assaulted the ancient Christian mountain town of Maaloula, located around 60 kilometers north-east of Damascus.

According to loyalist sources, the attack started with a Jordanian suicide bomber driving a reinforced Mercedes truck full of explosives towards an army checkpoint at the northern entrance of the city. The huge explosion killed 13 soldiers. The Jordanian was part of a "Brigade of the Immigrants" group consisting mostly of Chechen fighters and coming from the Deir Al-Zour area to Maaloula (through the desert), entering the town after chaos was created.

The source reports that after "the usual Chechen-style slaughter-orgy" by the group and following SAA reinforcements, the army was mostly in control again by the evening of Thursday, September 5th. A team of Russia Today visiting the town two days later, though, came into crossfire of ongoing fights between the Army and Islamists:

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