RNA - The terrorists in Hama province sustained heavy losses in raids by the Syrian army's choppers.
The Syrian army also continued its advances in other key provinces across Syria.
Hama
The Syrian army helicopters targeted the movements of the Al-Nusra Front (also known as Fatah al-Sham Front or the Levant Liberation Board) terrorists and its affiliated groups in Northern Hama, destroying several heavy vehicles and inflicting a number of casualties on the militants, including several field commanders, local sources said on Thursday.
The sources said that the army choppers targeted the Al-Nusra positions and movements in al-Heibat town, destroying 7 command posts and reconnaissance headquarters, 15 tanks, 11 armored vehicles and killing a number of terrorists, including several notorious commanders.
They added that bodies of the dead militants and wounded fighters have been transferred to the city of Idlib.
The sources further said that several commanders, including senior leader of the so-called army of pride (Jeish al-Izzah) Abdul Hamid al-Qadah, Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at (the Levant Liberation Board) commander Ahad Ahsam and Commander of the Artillery Units of Tahrir al-Sham Mohammad Jihad Qasab, are among the slain terrorists.
In the meantime, Commander of the Turkistani terrorist group Abu Obaida Turkistani and a number of other terrorist commanders from the Persian Gulf Arab states, Iraq and Egypt were killed in the attack.
Abu Fahd al-Anzi, a commander of Tahrir al-Sham, was another senior leader that was killed in the attack.
Earlier reports said that the pro-government forces and their allies engaged in fierce clashes with terrorists and managed to curb the terrorist groups' advance in Northern Hama.
Military sources reported that the troops' control over al-Shiha Hilltop North of al-Shiha town has paved the way to re-open the strategic Hama-Mahardah road.
Meanwhile, Syrian and Russian fighter jets conducted heavy airstrikes on militant positions in Halfaya and Al-Latamina; both towns serve as the launch-pad for rebel forces to attack Mahardah.
Damascus-Quneitra
The Syrian Army troops and aircraft struck several positions of the terrorists in the provinces of Damascus and Quneitra, inflicting a number of casualties on the militants.
The army's artillery units opened heavy fire at the movements of the terrorists in the outskirts of Muqr al-Mir and the Marwan al-Dababat hill in the Western parts of Damascus province.
A military source, meantime, said that the army warplanes launched intensive air assaults on the positions of the terrorist groups in the depth of Jobar district in the Eastern outskirts of Damascus.
Another source in Southern Syria said that government troops destroyed militants' equipment in massive heavy machinegun fire on their positions and movements in the outskirts of Masharah village.
Homs
The Syrian Army's artillery and missile units and the Russian fighter jets targeted terrorist groups' strongholds in Northern Homs, killing and wounding a number of militants.
The missile units opened heavy fire at terrorists' defense lines in the outskirt of Talbiseh town, leaving a number of militants dead or wounded.
Also the army's artillery units targeted the positions of terrorist groups in Tir Ma'ala.
The Syrian warplanes, meantime, targeted the military sites of the terrorists in the village of Za’aferaneh and Tir Ma'ala in Northern Homs, while the Russian bombers raided the positions of the terrorists near the town of Rastan.
Lattakia
The Syrian Air Force carried out more than a dozen combat flights over terrorist groups' positions in Northeastern Lattakia, inflicting major losses on the militants.
The warplanes targeted the terrorists' concentration centers in Kabani town and its surroundings in the Kurds Mountain, killing and wounding a number of militants.
The fighter jets also pounded terrorists' gathering centers during heavy night raids in the villages of Tafahia and Yunesiya located on an important supply route between Idlib and Lattakia near the Turkish border North of Lattakia.
The raids resulted in the destruction of a convoy of gunmen heading towards the Lattakia countryside near the Yunesiya crossing, destroying more than 10 SUVs with heavy machine guns loaded with weapons and ammunition.
In the meantime, unofficial reports said that the terrorist groups targeted the city of Jableh in Eastern Lattakia province with several Grad missiles that were intercepted by the air defense system at the Humeimim airbase and were destroyed in the sky near the city before hitting their targets.
Aleppo
The Syrian Army troops have driven ISIL out of over 20 villages and towns in Eastern Aleppo and imposed control over a long chunk of Aleppo-Raqqa highway in their recent operations, battlefield sources said.
The sources said that the army soldiers continued their anti-ISIL operations in Eastern Aleppo and expanded their control over 27 towns and villages around the city of Deir Hafer, restoring security to over 24 km of the international Aleppo-Raqqa highway.
The sources added that during the operations the Syrian army inflicted heavy casualties on the ISIL terrorists.
Dozens of armored and machinegun-equipped vehicles of the ISIL were badly destroyed in the attacks, they added.
Deir Ezzur
Well-informed military sources disclosed that the Syrian Army troops are preparing for a large-scale attack on ISIL's defense lines in the Western and Southern countryside of Deir Ezzur province.
The sources said that the army's 104th Airborne Brigade and Al-Qassem Group will lead the assault on ISIL's concentration centers, alongside the 123rd Brigade of the 3rd Division and 137th Artillery Brigade of the 17th Reserve Division.
They added that the army soldiers will attempt to recapture the Deir Ezzur provincial cemetery and al-Thardah mountain that overlook Deir Ezzur's strategic military airport.
Currently, a number of army soldiers are under seige at the Deir Ezzur Airport as ISIL maintains control over the main road leading from the provincial capital to the military installation.
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