The rebel brigades responded by attacking the villages in which Hezbollah barricaded in Northern Syria to force the Party to retreat and ease the pressure on Zabadani. Hezbollah, backed by Iran, immediately moved to the negotiations table with the Ahrar al-Sham brigade (an Islamic brigade fighting in Syria, composed of Syrian fighters only). Ahrar al-Sham was authorized by all brigades to head the negotiations which happened with out any presence of the regime, as if this matter is none of its concerns or one that it has no saying in.