Syria in Last 24 Hours:

Army, Allies Fully Recapture Aleppo, Purge Entire City of Terrorists

Rasa - The Syrian army and its allies managed to take full control of the city of Aleppo in the Northern part of Syria after purging thousands of terrorists in a landmark victory.

News ID: 425989

Date: 23 December 2016 - 23:35

RNA - The army units and popular forces purged the entire Aleppo city from terrorists.

The Syrian army also continued its advances in other key provinces across Syria.

Aleppo

The Syrian Army and its allies from the resistance front made history and took back the country's second most important city from thousands of terrorists in a landmark victory that will change the future of the war in Syria.

The last pocket of terrorists left Eastern Aleppo early Thursday, meaning that the Syrian army and its allies have purged all city districts of Jeish Al-Fatah terrorists and completed control over the entire city.

Syria has been grappling with deadly unrests since early 2011, and only after two years, Damascus found itself under the siege of a variety of terrorist groups overtly and covertly supported by the western powers and their regional allies -- especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.

Since mid-2012, the government forces have been fighting with the foreign-backed militants to take control of Aleppo, Syria's largest city and the country’s former commercial hub.

The terrorist groups, mostly from Al-Qaeda's official branch in Syria the Al-Nusra Front, occupied the Eastern, Northeastern and Southeastern districts of Aleppo and the Western, Northwestern and Southwestern parts of the city remained under the control of the army and popular forces.

There were no remarkable changes in arrangement of forces in Aleppo city till September 2015 when the Damascus government requested Iran to send a large number of military advisors, war strategists and commanders to Syria and also asked for Russia's direct military involvement in the war on terrorism.

And that's when the scene changed.

Homs

The Russian Air Force conducted several airstrikes over ISIL's positions West of the Syrian ancient city of Palmyra as the Syrian Army and its allies fended off an offensive by ISIL militants in the vicinity of a strategic airbase in Homs Province.

The Russian warplanes attacked the ISIL targets in Western Palmyra as the Syrian Army forces and Hezbollah fighters were fighting off the terrorists attempting to infiltrate the areas near T-4 Military Airport secured by the pro-government forces.

The assault by the ISIL militants took place just 5 kilometers East of the T4 Military Airbase and more than 30 kilometers West of the ancient city of Palmyra.

According to a source at the military installation, the Syrian Army managed to repel an ISIL offensive to infiltrate their defenses, killing and wounding over 25 terrorists in fierce clashes.

The pro-government forces also inflicted significant damage on ISIL's hardware, reportedly destroying 2 tanks and 3 technical vehicles mounted with machine guns.

Elsewhere in Homs Province, the Syrian army forces continued their large-scale operations against the terrorists in the Northern and Eastern parts of the province, smashing several bases and killing tens of militants.

The Syrian troops targeted the terrorists' gathering centers in the Northern parts of al-Za'feranah village towards Talbiseh in Northern Homs and destroyed a command center of al-Nusra Front (recently renamed to Fatah al-Sham Front) terrorists and inflicted heavy tolls and damage on the militants.

Also, the Syrian forces launched an offensive against the terrorists' hideouts in al-Rastan al-Tahtani, Kissin, Tal Do, Abu al-Iz farms and the Eastern parts of Talbiseh, al-Sa'an al-Aswad and Tir Ma'ala in Homs which killed and wounded dozens of militants and blew up their bases.

The Syrian army forces also targeted the terrorists' positions and gathering centers in al-Houla district in Northern Homs as well as Borj al-Qa'ie village and killed several militants.

In Eastern Homs, the Syrian army units smashed two tanks and several military vehicles of the ISIL terrorists on Alab-al-Tyas road in the Eastern parts of Fourth Station region. They also killed 23 ISIL terrorists in the same region.

Dara'a

News sources affiliated to the dissident groups in Syria announced that the Syrian government and the militants stationed in al-Sanamayn in Northern Dara'a have signed a peace agreement.

"It was agreed that the Syrian army enter the districts controlled by the militant groups and those militants who don’t desire to accept the reconciliation will go to Dara'a with their light weapons. This is while the militants who accept the peace agreement can request amnesty by delivering their weapons," a local source in the city said on Thursday.

Al-Sanamayn is one of the biggest cities in the Northern parts of Dara'a which hosts the Syrian army's important military positions.

The Syrian government has not yet confirmed reports on al-Sanamayn terrorists' joining the reconciliation plan.

Damascus

The Syrian army forces continued military operations against Jeish al-Islam terrorists in the Eastern Ghouta of Damascus, advancing in new areas.

The Syrian army units continued to advance from two directions towards Harazma region (near al-Nashabiya town) and Otaya in Eastern Damascus and could enter Housh al-Khanam, taking control of several houses.

Also, a commander of al-Nusra Front (recently renamed to Fatah al-Sham Front) terrorist group named Abu Mohammad al-Hout was killed near Meida'ani in clashes with the Syrian troops.

Meantime, the Syrian soldiers targeted the Jeish al-Islam terrorists' positions in Harasta city and the two towns of Hamouria and Sabaqa.

Field sources said clashes have resumed between the Syrian army and the terrorists on Damascus-Homs highway in Harasta region and the army forces targeted the militants' gathering centers in the region, killing tens of them.

Also, the terrorists' positions near Jobar district came under attack by the Syrian army units.

Syrian army troops engaged in fierce clashes with terrorists in Eastern Ghouta and managed to drive them out of a key region near the town of Meida'ani on Wednesday.

Several units of the army took part in a coordinated offensive against terrorist groups and pushed them back from al-Ma'amel region towards the towns of Harazma and Otaya.

The army men stretched the battlefield and managed to advance over one sq-km, making terrorists in the region confused.

The army soldiers also targeted a base of terrorists in al-Mesraba in Eastern Ghouta, killing all those at the base and destroying the base itself.

Hama

The Syrian air and ground forces launched massive attacks against the terrorist groups in Hama province, inflicting heavy casualties on the militants.

The Syrian fighter jets pounded the ISIL terrorists' positions in Aqirabat in the Eastern parts of Salamiyeh before the snowfall and destroyed one of their positions, killing and wounding a large number of militants.

The warplanes also targeted the ISIL gathering centers and moves in al-Shakousiya village in Aqirabat which killed 7 militants and blew up a vehicle with all the terrorists inside.

Meantime, the Syrian forces attacked the terrorists' positions in Souran city in Northern Hama and inflicted losses on the militants.

Deir Ezzur-Quneitra

The Syrian army forces and their allies launched operations against the terrorists' gathering centers and moves in Deir Ezzur and Quneitra provinces, inflicting casualties and damages on the militants and their military equipment.

The Syrian army units, supported by the popular and resistance forces, attacked ISIL's positions and moves on al-Husseiniyeh road, al-Halabiyeh square and the 7-kilometer regions as well as Jadid al-Akidat, al-Baqaliyeh villages and Mu Hassan city in Deir Ezzur, killing a large number of militants and destroying several of their military vehicles.

Also, in Quneitra province, the Syrian soldiers targeted the terrorists' positions and gathering centers in Naba al-Sakhar town, killing tens of militants.

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