Syria in Last 24 Hours:

ISIL Withdraws from More Positions under Syrian Army Attacks in Homs

Rasa - The Syrian Army troops continued to hit hard the positions of ISIL terrorist group in Eastern Homs and managed to drive ISIL out of more heights and hills, completing their operation in al-Shoumeriyeh region.

News ID: 429436

Date: 04 May 2017 - 22:17

RNA - Meantime, the army and popular forces continued their military advances in other parts of Syria, including Dara'a, Damascus and Deir Ezzur, over the past 24 hours.

Tens of terrorists were killed and dozens more were injured during the Syrian army's operations in other provinces across Syria.

Homs

The army soldiers engaged in fierce clashes with the ISIL in al-Shoumeriyeh mountain and took back control over more positions, killing tens of terrorists.

The army units managed to advance 9km in depth and 13km in width against ISIL and managed to take full control over al-Shoumeriyeh, ending their operation in the mountainous region.

Also, the army troops and allied forces repelled ISIL's large-scale attack on pro-government forces' positions in Eastern Homs, killing and wounding a number of terrorists, a military source confirmed.

"The army soldiers and their allies have repelled a number of ISIL's attacks on recently liberated settlements in Eastern Homs," a military source said, adding, "The terrorists tried to regain control over the lost territories, however, they suffered major losses and stepped back."

The Syrian army had liberated nearly 10 settlements occupied by ISIL in the Eastern part of the Homs province in late April.

Damascus

The commander of the Joint Operation Room of Jeish al-Islam in al-Marj region was killed in clashes with two rival terrorist groups in Eastern Ghouta.

Qasim Qadish, nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Qa'aqa, the notorious commander of Jeish al-Islam was killed in clashes with the rival terrorist groups of Faylaq al-Rahman and Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at (the Levant Liberation Board) in Eastern Ghouta.

In the meantime, Jeish al-Islam pulled its forces back from their positions in the streets and neighborhoods of the town of Zmelka under the heavy attacks of Faylaq al-Rahman and Tahrir al-Sham.

Local sources also said that heavy fighting was underway between terrorist groups in regions around the towns of Saqba and al-Hamouriyeh, inflicting heavy casualties on both sides.

In the meantime, military sources confirmed on Wednesday that the army troops entered two key towns in Western Damascus near the border with Lebanon, putting an end to the terrorists' activities in the Western parts of Qalamoun region.

The sources said that the army units entered the towns of Sabna and Dareh in Western Damascus province under a peace agreement between the Syrian government and militants after the militants ended operation and left the Western Qalamoun region.

The sources added that the arrival of the army soldiers in the towns of Sabna and Dareh  put an end to the Free Syrian Army operations in regions from the town of al-Zabadani to the settlement of al-Qareh except for the small area covered by the heights overlooking Faliteh settlement near Lebanon's Arsal region.

In the meantime, in line with completing Wadi al-Bardi's agreement between the Syrian government and militants that was concluded last December, 52 gunmen of Jeish Tahrir al-Sham that had left Sabna in Rankous heights West of Syria's Qalamoun for Idlib, were relocated in the town of al-Rahibeh East of Qalamoun under the supervision of the Red Crescent.

Media sources said on Wednesdays that almost 100 gunmen and their family members have been evacuated from a town in the Western territories of Damascus province near the border with Lebanon, as part of an agreement reached between the militant groups and the Syrian authorities,

The Arabic-language Al-Jadeed broadcaster quoted military information center of the Syrian government forces as saying that a sum of 100 gunmen and their family members left the town of Sabna for the militant-held regions in Idlib province using a corridor provided by the local authorities.

The evacuated gunmen had not agreed to lay down arms and join peace with the Syrian Army.

Also, social media affiliated to the terrorist groups disclosed that one of the notorious commanders of Faylaq al-Rahman cut relations with the terrorist group after infighting among rival militants intensified in Eastern Ghouta.

The sources revealed that Colonel Abu Mohammad Al-Kurdi declared that he decided to leave Faylaq al-Rahman's ranks after discovering that the group was cooperating and maintaining close contacts with Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at and Al-Qaeda.

Al-Kurdi concluded that he had no other choice but to defect and join Jeish al-Islam.

Based on reports, almost 200 gunmen have been killed in infighting in Eastern Damascus.

Also on Wednesday, the army units continued their anti-terrorism operation inside the al-Qaboun district, hitting militants in the Southern parts of the district.

In the meantime, a military source announced that pro-government forces were trying to confront terrorists in both the Northern and Western directions, driving a wedge between the terrorists.

The source added that the Syrian soldiers recaptured 7 building blocks and discovered a tunnel connecting Southeastern al-Qaboun to the Southwestern part of the district.

The source also said that during the bloody battle in al-Qaboun, scores of terrorists were killed and captured by Syrian army troops.

The source further added that al-Qaboun's narrow streets slowed down the army's advance against the militants.

Dara'a

The Syrian army's artillery and missile units shelled heavily the defense lines of Al-Nusra Front (also known as Fatah al-Sham Front or the Levant Liberation Board) in five different neighborhoods and regions in Dara'a city and its countryside, destroying several positions.

The artillery and missile units opened fire at the defense lines and movements of the Al-Nusra in the neighborhoods of Tarqi al-Saad, al-Abasiyeh, al-Feran, old costumes district and South of Ba'ar al-Shayah region South-East of Dara'a city, killing and wounding a number of militants and destroying several positions, military vehicles and a large volume of arms and ammunition.

Deir Ezzur

Local sources confirmed on Wednesday that the ISIL terrorist group executed 10 of its own militants on charges of carrying out anti-ISIL activities in Southeastern Deir Ezzur.

The sources said that the ISIL fire squad gunned down 10 of its own fighters in the town of al-Mayadeen on charges of treason.

Aleppo

Several militants affiliated to the Turkish Army troops were killed or wounded in clashes with the predominately Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Northern Aleppo.

The Ankara-backed militants' missile and mortar units shelled the villages of al-Masouqeh, Tal Madhiq and Hasiyeh in al-Shahba region last night, ending in the escalation of clashes between the militants and the SDF.

The SDF managed to repel the militants' attack, killing three fighters and wounding four more.

Raqqa

The SDF continued to hit ISIL's positions in al-Tabaqa city and managed to take control over more neighborhoods, laying siege on the terrorists in the Euphrates dam.

The SDF engaged in tough battle with the ISIL in the Northern part of al-Tabaqa and seized control over the neighborhoods 1, 2 and 3.

Local sources confirmed that the SDF troops found control over the entire neighborhoods of al-Tabaqa except for the building of the Euphrates dam, adding that ISIL terrorists were trapped in the circle of the SDF forces in the dam building.

In the meantime, fierce clashes were underway between the Kurdish fighters and the ISIL in the village of Moshayrefeh on the bank of the Euphrates River.

Idlib

Local sources in the town of Saraqib said terrorists along with members of the White Helmets Organization again embarked on making one more fake video clip to accuse the Syrian Army troops of carrying out attacks on civilians in Eastern Idlib.

The sources said that terrorist groups forced people to leave their town and then the White Helmets along with a number of children and film-making crew entered the town, adding that the town and its surrounding regions have been under siege by the terrorists.

Eye-witnesses also reported that thick black smoke that was going up from the location of the filming could be seen and after a few minutes the fire-extinguishing vehicles and ambulances arrived in the region with the permit of the terrorists.

They added that the film-making operation was done form different angles by several imaging-drones.

Reports also said that a staff of al-Jazeereh TV network was also among the film-making team.

Military sources disclosed on Wednesday that the Syrian army mounted a new model of Missile-Launchers, called Volcano, on its BMP1 armored vehicles to reinvigorate the armored units' combat capabilities in the fight against terrorists.

The sources said that the Syrian army engineers invented a new model of missile-launchers called Volcano and mounded it on the BMP1 armored vehicle to enhance the army's combat capabilities and might in the war on the terrorist groups.

The engineers modified BMP1 vehicles in order to be able to mount the Volcano Missile-Launchers on them, they added.

The sources went on to say that the Syrian engineers invented the new model of missile-launchers to install them on the highest point of BMP1 armored vehicles' chassis with the operational range of five to seven kilometers.

In the meantime, the Russian language Russkaya Gazeta newspaper said in a report that before modifying the BMP1 armored vehicles and shifting it into a missile-launcher, the army had mounted its missile-launchers on the Russian-made Sadko vehicles.

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