With the greatest threat to Canea appearing to come from the east, the International Squadron by 26 February had concentrated most of its ships in Suda Bay, east of Canea, where they could fire on insurgent forces holding the Akrotiri Peninsula. The squadron's men ashore also began patrols to keep the paved road between Canea and Suda open. On 28 February 1897, insurgent forces mounted their first attack on the Ottoman-held blockhouse at Aptera on Malaxa Mountain overlooking Suda Bay; the blockhouse supported the Izzeddin Fortress, which in turn commanded the road. After receiving permission from the admirals of the International Squadron to shell the insurgents, the Ottoman Navy ironclad Mukaddeme-i Hayir fired three rounds, the first of which was particularly accurate, and her gunfire cleared the hillsides around the blockhouse of insurgents.