Rebel fighters announced the launch of a major offensive aimed at encircling Damascus International Airport, through which the Assad regime has been receiving military aid from Iran. The offensive gained ground as rebels advanced on the town of Ghizlaniya, with reports of regime losses. Two civilians were killed and five others were wounded in artillery shelling on the city of Zamalka in East Gouta, while violent clashes broke out between regime forces and rebels near Mleiha. Three civilians were killed in air raids on Jobar, while five people were injured in the district of Kassa’a as a result of mortar fire. Two mortar shells struck the Adawy neighborhood, two more on Mzra’a and two landed in the Umayyad Square, causing material damage. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Smart News + Sham News)