Syria in Last 24 Hours:

Terrorists Sustain Heavy Losses in Army Offensives Near Ancient Palmyra City

Rasa - The Syrian army inflicted heavy losses on the ISIL terrorists by hitting their military positions in the vicinity of the ancient city of Palmyra in the Eastern part of Homs province.

News ID: 427884

Date: 05 March 2017 - 20:08

RNA - The terrorists were pushed back from their strongholds East of Palmyra city in Homs province.

Scores of terrorists were killed and wounded in tough battle with the Syrian government forces.

The Syrian army and popular forces also continued their military gains in other key provinces across Syria.

Homs

The Syrian Army soldiers struck ISIL's gatherings in the Eastern direction of Palmyra (Tadmur) after terrorists withdrew from the ancient city on Thursday and fled towards the East.

The army troops launched heavy attacks on the remaining pockets of ISIL terrorists that fled the Palmyra towards al-Sawameh (silos) region after the government forces recaptured the ancient city in Eastern Homs on Thursday.

A large number of ISIL terrorists were killed or wounded in the Eastern outskirts of Palmyra in the army attack.

ISIL's military vehicles also sustained major damage in the offensive.

A Syrian security official said on Friday that the army's engineering units were cleaning landmines and explosives planted by the ISIL terrorists in the historic city of Palmyra.

The official said that the demining process would be long and difficult due to the large number of mines planted by the ISIL across Palmyra.

Aleppo

The Syrian army forces and their allies continue to push ISIL back from more territories in Eastern Aleppo after capturing 30 villages and towns in week-long operations in the region, including 18 in the last two days.

The Syrian soldiers continued to advance in East Aleppo after clashes with the ISIL terrorists on Friday and Saturday and regained control of Qasr Hadlah, Alafa, Nabatah Saqira, Nabatah Kabirah, Kharbat al-Zabit, Job Soltan, Job al-Hamam, Sijan, Maqtalah, Tafri'ah Kabira, al-Lawa, al-Biraqdar, Halisiyeh, Amoudiyeh, Jaia'a, al-Safari, al-Attawiyeh and Abu Jadha Saqir villages and towns.

Meantime, a military source reported that army troops destroyed 6 armored vehicles and 4 oil tankers of the ISIL and defused 4 of their bomb-laden cars in the same region.

Now the total number of the towns and villages taken back from the ISIL by the Syrian army soldiers in the last one week stands at nearly 30.

Earlier reports on Saturday also said that the Syrian army troops seized control of several towns and a key height in Eastern Aleppo, paving the ground for the liberation of the strategic town of Deir Hafer.

The army soldiers stormed ISIL's positions near Deir Hafer and managed to seize control over the towns of Abu Jarin, Tal Ma'ez and Rasm al-Kabar, killing a large number of terrorists, including 23 militants in Abu Jarin only.

A field source said that the pro-government forces reached the strategic al-Sous hill following their advances in the Northern flank of Deir Hafer, adding that with the army control over al-Sous hill, the entire Deir Hafer and ISIL's movements in the Northern and Eastern direction of the town have fallen under the control of the army soldiers.

Hama-Idlib

The Syrian Army troops and Air Force targeted the positions of Al-Nusra Front (Fatah al-Sham Front) in Northern Hama and Southern Idlib, killing and wounding a large number of terrorists, including two commanders.

The army aircraft carried out several combat flights over Al-Nusra movements and gatherings in the villages of Tamala and Hasaneh in Southern Idlib, killing at least three militants and destroying three of their vehicles.

In the meantime, the army troops targeted Al-Nusra's positions near Tarmala village, destroying their vehicles loaded with ammunition.

Elsewhere in Southern Idlib, the army soldiers targeted the Al-Nusra Front positions in Sinjar region, inflicting several casualties on the terrorists.

The army men also targeted the concentration centers of a terrorist group in al-Tamanna town in Northern Hama, killing four militants, including Abdul Qader Jeddi, a commander of the group.

Field source also said that the army soldiers destroyed the terrorists' command posts in Skeik village at the provincial borderline between Hama with Idlib, killing Amar Dayoub, one of their commanders.

The source further added that the army units also targeted terrorists' positions in the small town of Kafr Zita in Northern Hama, destroying one of their military vehicles and a cannon.

Deir Ezzur

Websites affiliated to terrorist groups reported heavy infighting among ISIL terrorists in Eastern Deir Ezzur, saying that the clashes have already left a number of casualties.

The websites said that the ISIL terrorists engaged in fierce clashes in the Eastern territories of Deir Ezzur province, leaving at least a dozen casualties.

In the meantime, local sources in Raqqa province disclosed that ISIL has intensified security measures in the self-proclaimed capital of ISIL, adding that the terrorists have arrested a nine-member family that tired to escape the Raqqa city.

The Kurdish fighters' Euphrates Rage Operation Room said on Tuesday that the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were about to close off ISIL terrorists' only way from Raqqa to Deir Ezzur.

The Operation Room said that the SDF managed to take control over 1,762 sq/km of lands in Raqqa and Deir Ezzur provinces in clashes with the ISIL, underlining that its forces were moving on all the roads to Raqqa and were about to separate ISIL-held regions in Raqqa from Deir Ezzur.

Spokesman for the Euphrates Rage Operation Room Jeihan Sheikh Ahmad said that 18 villages and 34 farms in Raqqa and 46 villages and 177 farms in Deir Ezzur came under the control of his forces' anti-ISIL operation.

He further added that ISIL lost 172 members in the SDF operation.

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