Syria in Past 24 Hours:

ISIL under Sieage in Deir Hafer

Rasa - The Syrian army soldiers laid siege on the strategic town of Deir Hafer in Eastern Aleppo from the Northern, Western and Southern directions after taking control of the town of al-Harmal.

News ID: 428273

Date: 19 March 2017 - 22:18

RNA - The Syrian army soldiers laid siege on the strategic town of Deir Hafer in Eastern Aleppo from the Northern, Western and Southern directions after taking control of the town of al-Harmal.

Aleppo

The Syrian army continued military operations in Eastern Aleppo and regained control of all villages located to the South of Kuweires airbase.

The army forces seized back full control over the towns of Rasm al-Abd, Tal Ahmar and al-Asemiyeh to the South of Kuweires that are linked to Sabkhat al-Jaboul region in Eastern Aleppo after heavy clashes with the ISIL terrorists.

A military source also said that the Syrian soldiers laid siege on the strategic town of Deir Hafer from the Northern, Western and Southern directions after retaking control over the town of al-Harmal Southwest of Deir Hafer, adding that the ISIL has already lost the town in military terms.

Also in the past 24 hours, the Syrian army troops continued operations near Kuweires airbase in Eastern Aleppo, and advanced in several more regions.

The army forces regained control of al-Kabariyeh town in the Northern parts of Deir Hafer after clashes with the ISIL terrorists.

They also won back the strategic hill of Khasaf South of Kuweires and North of the town of Sabkhat al-Jaboul after capturing the towns of Khasaf and al-Zubaydeh.

Meantime, the army soldiers targeted the ISIL positions in Deir Hafer and destroyed several ditches and tunnels in the strategic town.

Also on Saturday, the Syrian army continued military operations in Eastern Aleppo and advanced in more regions along the Raqqa-Aleppo highway.

The army units imposed control of 7 more kilometers of lands on the international Raqqa-Aleppo highway after clashes with the ISIL terrorists and killing tens of them.

A military source reported that during their operations in the past few days, the Syrian army troops have captured 11 towns and villages, adding that the government soldiers have also destroyed 7 bomb-laden vehicles, defused over 2,000 bombs and seized two Turkish-made 'Cobra' armored vehicles.

They also smashed 3 tanks, 9 vehicles, 2 arms trucks carrying ammunition and artillery equipment and 4 drones, 3 of which armed with explosives.

Deir Ezzur

The Syrian army, supported by the air force, repelled two ISIL offensives against their positions near Deir Ezzur airbase and the surrounding areas of Regiment 137, inflicting heavy casualties on the terrorists.

The army units stationed at Deir Ezzur airbase, supported by the Syrian fighter jets, repulsed the ISIL militants' attempts to occupy the region by launching artillery attacks and airstrikes against their moves.

Army reports said one tank, 8 machinegun-equipped vehicles and 2 bomb-laden cars of ISIL were destroyed near al-Ta'min Brigade region and 2 other suicide vehicles were also damaged near al-Ma'amel region.

During the clashes, tens of ISIL terrorists were killed and wounded, the army said.

Also, the army forces fiercely clashed with the ISIL militants who sought to enter the surrounding areas of Regiment 137, inflicting 10 casualties on the terrorists and smashing their machinegun-equipped vehicle.

Meantime, a military source reported that the Syrian soldiers targeted a boat carrying terrorists towards al-Baliqiyeh-Heart Hospital with artillery fire and killed all those on the boat.

A Russian daily reported on Saturday that the ISIL power is declining in Raqqa and Mosul, adding that the terrorist group is now very much likely to pick up Deir Ezzur as its new self-proclaimed capital.

Izvestia newspaper reported that the ISIL has transferred its senior commanders to Deir Ezzur after its major losses in Iraq and Syria.

General Turki Hassan, a prominent military expert, told the Russian daily that the ISIL move to Deir Ezzur is not just confined to the military commanders and includes their family members too.

Also, Brigadier General Yahya Soleiman, a retired army commander, said that the ISIL has decided to attack the Syrian army forces in Deir Ezzur and it has launched massive offensives against the army positions near the highly important Deir Ezzur airbase in the past few days which were all repelled.

Meantime, Boris Dolgov, a Russian analyst, underlined that the ISIL is showing futile resistance because after continued defeats in Iraq and Syria, the terrorist group will be turned into an armed group not in control of any specific area which should always be on the move to find another region to base its command center there, and Deir Ezzur is their base choice to this end.

Also in the past 24 hours, the Syrian army launched massive attacks on ISIL and advanced in al-Ma'amel region after repelling the terrorists' offensive on areas near Regiment 137 Base and killing more than 130 militants.

The army units regained control of two districts in al-Ma'amel region after heavy clashes with the ISIL terrorists.

They also killed over 130 terrorists and destroyed 3 of their military vehicles during the clashes to repulse an ISIL attack on areas surrounding Regiment 137 Base.

The Syrian soldiers also killed tens of ISIL militants in artillery and missile attacks against their positions in the Old Airport, al-Hamidiyeh and the Central Park districts.

Meantime, the army forces launched massive attacks on ISIL bases near al-Ta'min Brigade region, destroying two vehicles and inflicting several casualties on the terrorists.

Homs

The Syrian army scored more victories against the terrorists in Eastern Homs and advanced in important areas East of the ancient city of Palmyra (Tadmur).

According to al-Masdar news, the army soldiers continued military operations in Eastern Palmyra and seized back control of all oilfields near al-Mustadireh mountain after regaining the heights from the militants.

Reports said that tens of ISIL terrorists were killed during the army operations in the region.

Also reports said on Saturday that hundreds of terrorists who have turned down the government's peace offer will soon start evacuating al-Wa'er district in Homs province.

The first group of terrorists consisting of 450 militants and their family members will leave the region once tens of Green Buses arrive in al-Wa'er to relocate them.

Based on an agreement between the Syrian army and the terrorist groups, supervised by Russia, 1,500 to 2,000 militants will be transferred to Jerablus in the Eastern parts of Aleppo on Saturday.

The next stages of the agreement will be implemented in the next few days.

Raqqa

The predominantly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) engaged in fierce clashes with ISIL and managed to take control of several regions East of the terrorist group's self-proclaimed capital, Raqqa.

The SDF forces seized control of Abu Khashab train station in the Northern parts of al-Karameh town in Eastern Raqqa after heavy clashes with the terrorists.

Prior to this victory, the Kurdish forces had taken control of al-Karameh and the strategic region of wheat silos in Eastern Raqqa from the ISIL.

Local sources said the ISIL has declared a curfew in Raqqa city after the recent defeats from the SDF.

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