RNA - The army units drove the ISIL terrorists out of key areas and their surrounding areas in Hama province.
The Syrian troops inflicted heavy losses on the terrorists in fierce clashes over controlling of strategic regions. They also destroyed military equipment of the terrorists.
The Syrian army also continued its advances in other key provinces across Syria.
Hama
The Syrian army troops advanced to regions 2km away from a surrounded ISIL base in Eastern Hama.
A military field source said that the army forces have regained control of the village of al-Moshirfeh in Eastern Hama near Aqayrabat.
He added that since the battle in Aqayrabat is highly important to the ISIL, the terrorist group has well prepared for the battle and has dug a large number of ditches and planted mines in the region. The ISIL has also stockpiled a large number of weapons, tanks, sniper guns and missiles.
The source said that the Syrian army troops have now reached areas 2km away from Aqayrabat, adding that the anti-ISIL operations will further accelerate after the special 'ISIL Hunters' forces join the army.
Homs
The Syrian army, supported by the air force, continued the battle against ISIL in Central Syria, and drove the terrorists out of more regions.
The army troops continued advances from Huwaisis in Eastern Homs, regaining control of the villages of al-Moshrefeh, al-Hafiyeh and al-Za'routiyeh.
Also, the Syrian army's air force and artillery units heavily pounded the ISIL positions in areas surrounding the Aqayrabat region in Hama, leaving a large number of terrorists dead and wounded.
Deir Ezzur
Military helicopters of the US-led coalition carried out another heliborne operation in Western Deir Ezzur to evacuate ISIL militants from the region, media reports said on Thursday.
The Kurdish-language Rudaw news website quoted local sources as saying that the US army carried out a heliborne operation in al-Souh region in the Southwestern parts of the town of al-Masrab in Western Deir Ezzur at 5pm (local time) on Wednesday, taking away a number of ISIL terrorists.
The US army has conducted a growing number of similar heliborne operations to help senior ISIL leaders in Eastern Syria this year.
Damascus
The Syrian army forces regained control of another strategic region during military operations against the al-Nusra Front (Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at or the Levant Liberation Board) in Western Damascus.
The Syrian soldiers retook control of the strategic hill of War'at Qila al-Roum between the two villages of al-Maqrouseh and Harfa after heavy clashes with al-Nusra terrorists in Western Damascus on Thursday.
A field source said that the army troops have inflicted heavy casualties on the terrorists during the operation, adding that the army has won back the military control of terrorists' supply route between the two towns of Beit Jen and Moqar al-Mayer (the al-Nusra command center in the region) after driving out the militants from the strategic hill.
Idlib
The al-Qaeda-linked Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at (the Levant Liberation Board or the Al-Nusra Front) terrorist group brutally massacred all members of a family that was affiliated to a rival militant group, including 20 people, in Northern Idlib.
Tahrir al-Sham militants stormed the rural town of Taladah and rounded up an entire family, some of whom were members of the Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zenki militant group, and then slaughtered them.
In the massacre, some 20 people, including women and children as well as 4 serving militants of the al-Zenki faction, were killed.
Opposition sources say that Tahrir al-Sham specifically targeted this family because it was very vocal in anti-Tahrir sentiments during the latest round of infightings in Idlib.
After being part of Tahrir al-Sham alliance since its formation at the beginning of this year, Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zenki defected the al-Qaeda-linked group in late July due to ambiguities over its blatant hostility towards other rebel groups (namely Ahrar al-Sham and the Free Syrian Army).
Informed sources disclosed earlier this month that clashes among terrorist groups have intensified in Southeastern Idlib, leaving a number of militants dead or wounded.
The sources reported that the Al-Nusra Front (Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at or the Levant Liberation Board) stormed the positions of Jeish al-Fateheen affiliated to Ahrar al-Sham in the town of Tahtaya, killing and wounding a number of the rival militants.
In the meantime, fighters of Hamoud al-Malik, the former commander of Ahrar al-Sham, engaged in clashes with former combatants of Jund al-Aqsa in the town of Ma'art Shamarin in Southern Idlib.
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