Syria in Last 24 Hours:

Army Repels Terrorists' Attacks on Gov't Positions in Hama

Rasa - The Syrian army soldiers repelled terrorists' attacks on their positions in Hama province after hours of clashes, inflicting major losses on them.

News ID: 429672

Date: 16 May 2017 - 21:56

RNA - The terrorists' offensives to capture the government forces' positions in Hama were fended off by the strong defense of the Syrian military men.

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

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

Hama

The Syrian Army troops engaged in fierce clashes with ISIL along a road connecting the town of Ithriya to the town of al-Salamiyah and managed to repel the terrorists' offensive.

The army soldiers warded off ISIL's large-scale attack to break through the pro-government forces' strongholds along the road connecting Ithriya to al-Salamiyah in Sheikh Halal and Wadi al-Azib regions.

The ISIL suffered heavy casualties and its military equipment sustained major damage in the failed attack.

Military sources reported that the army soldiers restored full security to Ithriya-al-Salamiyah road after repelling ISIL's attack.

Damascus

Local sources in Eastern Ghouta of Damascus reported that Jeish al-Islam has gained control of several positions after clashes with Faylaq al-Rahman and Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at (the Levant Liberation Board) rival terrorist groups.

Jeish al-Islam militants attacked the positions of Faylaq al-Rahman and Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at in Beit Sawa and al-Ash'ari regions in Eastern Ghouta, causing heavy clashes between the two sides.

During the clashes Jeish al-Islam took control of several points occupied by Faylaq al-Rahman near the town of Hamouriyeh in the Central parts of Eastern Ghouta.

Deir Ezzur

Well-informed sources said on Sunday that the Lebanese Hezbollah Resistance Movement has deployed hundreds of fighters in two main fronts in Southern Syria near the border with Jordan to prevent the US-backed militants from moving towards Deir Ezzur.

The sources said that the Hezbollah Movement has deployed 12 regiments with 1,000 fighters to Homs, Dara'a and Quneitra to face the US-backed militants in al-Tanf border crossing and foil Washington's plan for the capture of Deir Ezzur.

The sources said that the Syrian Army troops and their popular allies are trying hard to intensify their operations in Badiyeh (desert) to reach the border with Iraq and Jordan to prevent the militants backed up by the US and Jordan from attacking Deir Ezzur via the Syrian border with Jordan.

The sources further added that advances of the Syrian soldiers and Hezbollah towards the border with Iraq will be done via two flanks, including Damascus Badiyeh and Eastern Homs, which is considered to be the Syrian units' base to launch their operation to lift ISIL's siege on Deir Ezzur city and airbase.

Field sources, meantime, reported that the pro-government forces are supposed to advance in parallel towards the border with Iraq to block the movements of the militants that are trying to enter Syria through border with Jordan and from areas close to Iraq.

The army soldiers and their allies will continue their cooperation to launch a large-scale operation in Southern Damascus to reinvigorate the friendly forces in the region to restore full security to the entire regions around Damascus from the direction of Dara'a and Quneitra provinces.

Aleppo

The Syrian Army troops, backed up by the country's Air Force, continued their anti-ISIL operations around the newly-liberated Jarah airbase to stretch their chain of security around the military airport in Eastern Aleppo, informed sources said Sunday.

The sources said that the army soldiers continued to hit ISIL's positions and managed to take control over the last hill overlooking the Jarah airbase.

They added that the army men, meantime, fortified their positions in the villages of Khirbet Aqleh, Jarah al-Kabirhe and Jarah al-Saqirah, advancing towards the rest of the villages that are still under ISIL's control.

In the meantime, the warplanes pounded ISIL's concentration centers in areas surrounding Jarah airbase and the town of Maskana, the sources reported, adding that other units of the army engaged in heavy fighting with ISIL near the recently-freed town of Deir Hafer.

Military sources confirmed that the Syrian Army troops that took full control over the Jarah airbase on Saturday were preparing for another push towards ISIL's last stronghold in Aleppo province.

The sources said that the army troops liberated Jarah airbase after almost four years of terrorists' occupation and turned it into their command center for the ongoing operations in Aleppo.

They added that a large number of soldiers that were deployed in de-escalation zones will soon arrive in Jarah airbase to take part in a large-scale operation to drive ISIL terrorists out of the town of Maskana that is considered as the last main stronghold of the terrorist group in Eastern Aleppo.

The sources pointed out that the capture of Maskana will put an end to the ISIL's presence in Aleppo province, adding that liberation of Maskana will also restore more security to the only supply line of the army forces to Aleppo province and will also pave the way for the pro-government forces to enter Raqqa province to hit ISIL there.

Reports also said that thousands of the army forces deployed in de-escalation zones entered the province of Homs and Deir Ezzur to accelerate the trend of ending ISIL's presence in Syria.

Raqqa

Field sources in Northeastern Syria reported that almost 30 civilians have been killed and wounded in a drone attack launched by the US-led coalition in Raqqa countryside.

The sources said that a coalition combat drone targeted several vehicles carrying female workers in the farms near the terrorist-held Raqqa city, killing 22 women and wounding nine more.

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