It is reported that when Abu ʿUbayd caught sight of the elephant he exclaimed:
“Ah, you mighty four-footed beast—how huge you are!
Yet with the keen blade I shall strike your trunk!”

He then declared, “If I am killed, my son Jabr will command; should he fall, then Habib ibn Rabiʿah, the brother of Abu Mihjan; if he is killed, then my brother ʿAbd Allah.” All three commanders were in fact slain, carnage spread among the Muslims, and they made for the bridge. al-Muthanna ibn Harithah seized the banner and shielded them with a company that stood firm beside him. ʿAbd Allah ibn Yazid reached the bridge first, cut it down, and shouted, “Fight for your religion!” The men plunged into the Euphrates, and many drowned. al-Muthanna later re-laid the bridge, enabling the rest to cross.

According to Khalifah, 1,800 were martyred that day; Sayf gives a figure of 4,000 between the dead and the drowned. al-Shaʿbi relates that Abu ʿUbayd was killed along with 800 Muslims. Others say that al-Muthanna ibn Harithah al-Shaybani remained in command, though wounded, until his death, appointing Ibn al-Khassasiyah as his successor, as mentioned earlier.

Homs

Abu Mushir reported from ʿAbd Allah ibn Salim: “Abu ʿUbaydah marched on Homs with twelve thousand men—six thousand of them from the tribe of al-Sukun—and captured it.” Abu ʿUthman al-Sanʿani said: “After we had taken Damascus, we went out with Abu al-Dardaʾ on the Barzah patrol; we then advanced with Abu ʿUbaydah, and through us Allah opened Homs.” It is also reported that Homs and Baalbek were taken by treaty late in the year 14 AH.