Syria in Last 24 Hours:

Army Sends Fresh Reinforcement Forces to T4 Airbase in Eastern Homs Province

Rasa - The Syrian army dispatched tens of reinforcement forces who have been recently trained in the Russian bases in Damascus countryside to fight against the terrorist groups in T4 airbase in the Eastern part of Homs province.

News ID: 426631

Date: 18 January 2017 - 20:25

RNA - The deployment took place with the aim of reinvigorating the combat and defense capabilities of the Syrian army in Eastern Homs province.

Meantime, the Syrian army and popular forces continued their military advances in other parts of Syria, including Aleppo and Deir Ezzur, over past 24 hours.

Homs

Tens of fresh soldiers who have been trained at Russian bases near Damascus were deployed in T4 Airbase in Eastern Homs to reinvigorate the Syrian Army's combat capacities.

The Syrian Army has reinvigorated its combat and defense capabilities in Eastern Homs by deploying tens of fresh forces who had been trained in one of the Russian garrisons in Damascus countryside for several weeks.

"135 soldiers have been sent to T4 airbase to protect the airport and further take part in the liberation operation of Palmyra and energy fields in Eastern Homs," a military source said.

Media sources released images of the fresh forces who have been equipped with advanced Russian-made logistic equipment and Russian guns with night vision lens.

Earlier on Tuesday, the army troops warded off three offensives of ISIL on government's positions in Northern, Northeastern and Eastern Homs, inflicting major losses on the terrorists.

The army men engaged in heavy fighting with ISIL terrorists that tried to break through their positions in the villages of Jubb al-Jarrah and Abu al-Ala in Northeastern Homs, killing and wounding a number of them and forcing the rest to retreat from the battlefield.

In the meantime, the army soldiers targeted concentration centers of a group of terrorists that had planned to carry out an attack on government positions in Talbiseh region.

The army troops also foiled ISIL's plan to capture their positions to the West of Palmyra (Tadmur) city and killed a number of them in a preemptive move.

Also, the Syrian and Russian fighter jets bombed the gatherings and movements of terrorists in the villages of Deir Foul and Ezzeddeen in Northern and Northeastern Homs.

Deir Ezzur

A military source disclosed that hundreds of Syrian Army soldiers and fighters of the Lebanese Hezbollah Movement have been dispatched to Deir Ezzur on Tuesday to reinvigorate government forces and confront advancing ISIL terrorists.

The source said that while the Syrian and Russian fighter jets have intensified their anti-ISIL combat flights in Deir Ezzur, hundreds of army soldiers and Hezbollah combatants have arrived in the region to take part in an imminent operation to take back the lands lost to the ISIL in the last 24 hours.

The source rejected reports about collapse of the Deir Ezzur airbase, and said, "The ISIL has suffered heavy casualties but due to the huge number of its forces, they are trying hard to approach the airbase."

Local sources said yesterday that a large number of ISIL's injured members were transferred to terrorist-held Raqqa city.

Another senior Syrian military official also in remarks earlier on Tuesday rejected media claims that Deir Ezzur airbase is on the verge of collapse due to ISIL's repeated offensives, and said the army forces and their allies have resisted against the terrorists for over two years and will continue their counterattacks in future.

"Despite ISIL's penetration in 22 positions in Southern Deir Ezzur, the army operations to drive them out have prevented them from establishing their military presence," the official told on Tuesday.

He underlined that the security ring of the Syrian army around Deir Ezzur airbase is highly strong, and said that they have been resisting against the ISIL for over two and a half years and didn’t allow its collapse and "the collapse of the airbase now will be impossible".

The official said that the Syrian troops' aerial, artillery and missile attacks against the ISIL have blocked the terrorists' advance in the region despite their massive offensive against the army in the past few days.

Aleppo

The Syrian and Russian fighter jets carried out tens of combat sorties on ISIL's gatherings and movements in Eastern Aleppo, inflicting major casualties on the militants and destroying a large convoy of their vehicles.

The Russian bombers targeted a convoy of ISIL's military vehicles between Eastern Aleppo and Western Raqqa, destroying several vehicles and killing their crew.

The Syrian army aircraft pounded ISIL's defense lines near the towns of Deir Hafer and al-Bab, killing or wounding a number of militants.

A military source said that heavy air attacks of the Syrian and Russian fighter jets were an introduction to a large-scale operation of the army and its popular allies in Eastern Aleppo to liberate al-Bab and Deir Hafer.

Damascus

Terrorist groups once again breached nationwide ceasefire in Eastern Ghouta forcing the Syrian army troops to launch retaliatory attacks on militants' positions.

Terrorist snipers deployed in Eastern Ghouta opened fire at the vehicles and passengers on Damascus-Homs road in Harasta region.

The army soldiers, in a retaliatory move, stormed terrorists' concentration centers in al-Bahariyeh region towards Harazma town in al-Marj region, while the army's artillery and missile units pounded the militants' positions in the region, inflicting major losses on the terrorists.

The missile units also shelled terrorists' gatherings near the two towns of al-Nashabiyeh and Harazma.

The army men also engaged in fierce clashes with the terrorists along a road connecting al-Bahariyeh to al-Qasemiyeh farms and took control of several farms and positions in the region.

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