Syria in Last 24 Hours:

Army Regains Control of More Areas in Homs

Rasa - The Syrian army continued its advances in Homs, and captured more strategic regions in the province.

News ID: 430872

Date: 09 July 2017 - 22:13

RNA - The army units drove the ISIL terrorists out of key areas and their surrounding areas in Homs province.

The Syrian troops inflicted heavy losses on the terrorists in fierce clashes over controlling of strategic regions. They also destroyed military equipment of the terrorists.

The Syrian army also continued its advances in other key provinces across Syria.

Homs

The Syrian Army troops continued to hit ISIL's defense lines in Eastern Homs and imposed control over more lands in the region.

The army men engaged in tough battle with the ISIL in Eastern Homs and captured a key town and several nearby heights.

The army units clashed fiercely with ISIL and drove them out of the town of Jubab Hamd North of Um al-Tababi 12km East of Homs city.

In the meantime, a military source confirmed that a large number of terrorists were killed and a large volume of their military hardware was damaged.

The sources also said that three key heights North of Jubab Hamd were captured by the army men.

The source further added that the army forces have fortified their positions in Western Raqqa to restart the operation towards the town of al-Sukhnah in Eastern Homs that is seen as an entrance gate to the besieged city of Deir Ezzur.

Damascus

A military source in Eastern Ghouta said that over 100 terrorists, mainly from the Al-Nusra Front (also known as Fatah al-Sham Front or the Levant Liberation Board), have been killed in the Syrian Army attack East of Damascus province.

The sources reported that the Syrian Air Force launched a heavy bombing of terrorists' positions, command post and defense lines of the terrorists in the middle of the neighborhoods and regions of Jobar, Ein Terma and Zmelka, where the most important warehouses and operation rooms and most of the commanders and members of Al-Nusra are.

The sources further added that the army's Special Forces, backed up by BMP armored vehicles and T-72 tanks as well as heavy artillery and missile fire, stormed terrorists' strongholds along the road that connects Ein Terma to Jobar.

In the meantime, other units of the army managed to advance against the terrorists along the Jobar-Zmelka road and imposed control over several residential buildings, the sources went on to say.

They added that the army managed to prevail over the terrorists' defense lines and the most important defense citadel of the terrorists along the Ein Terma-Jobar and Jobar-Zmelka and seized control over almost 1sq/km, including strategic crossroad near Ein Terma hospital.

The sources, also, added that the army forces killed over 100 terrorists, mostly from the Al-Nusra, and destroyed several missile and mortar launchpads and military vehicles.

Earlier reports said that the Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at (the Levant Liberation Board) stormed the positions of Jeish al-Islam in Eastern Ghouta and pushed the rival terrorist group back from several positions.

Tahrir al-Sham militants struck heavily Jeish al-Islam's defense lines in areas surrounding the small town of Deir Sawa near the town of Mesraba.

In the meantime, Tahrir al-Sham terrorists engaged in fierce clashes with Jeish al-Islam in the town of al-Ash'ari in the Southern part of Eastern Ghouta and managed to impose control over several positions of Jeish al-Islam.

Nine members of Jeish al-Islam were also killed in the infighting.

Jeish al-Islam's Spokesman Hamzeh Beiraqdar said that Tahrir al-Sham managed to take control over the farms in nearby regions of the town of al-Ash'ari with the back up of several Free Syrian Army groups.

Homs-Hama Highway

The Syrian Army troops on Saturday fortified their positions in a vast region between Northern Homs and Southern and Southwestern Hama to enhance security at a strategic highway and a key road in the region.

Military sources said that the army deployed more forces along the highway that connects Homs to Hama city and fortified its positions West of the road that connects Homs to al-Salamiyah town in Hama province.

The sources said that the region is included in de-escalation zones, adding that due to its importance, the terrorists try to cut off Homs-al-Salamiyah road while the army men are repelling terrorists' attacks on their positions along the road everyday.

The sources underscored the importance of the strategic triangle in central Syria that covers vast regions from the Western countryside of al-Salamiyah to Northern Homs and Southwestern Hama, adding that the triangle has been under terrorists' threats.

The sources went on to say that popular forces are assisting the army forces to restore security to the Homs-Hama highway and Homs-al-Salamiyah road.

In the meantime, the army forces are completing the siege on the terrorists in a vast region between the province of Aleppo, Hama and Aleppo.

Military sources said earlier on Saturday that the army forces shot down eight bomb-laden drones of the terrorists in Northwestern Hama.

The army units targeted eight small explosive-laden drones of the terrorist groups in the strategic Jabourin hill in al-Ghab plain region.

The drones were downed before targeting the pro-government forces' positions.

Raqqa

The Predominately Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) continued their anti-ISIL operation codenamed the Euphrates Rage in Northeastern Syria and imposed control over more neighborhoods in Raqqa city, field sources confirmed.

The sources said that the SDF continued to hit ISIL's positions from several directions and advanced towards the Central part of the city.

They added that the Kurdish fighters drove ISIL out of the historic Citadel of Haron al-Rashid and managed to advance 700m in the neighborhood towards the city center.

The SDF, meantime, captured al-Mazareh square North of al-Barid neighborhood.

The Kurdish forces have entered the Old Raqqa neighborhood and won control over half of it after reaching the Old Grand Mosque.

Also, the SDF fighters pushed ISIL back from 75 percent of Raqqa' Ancient Wall and approached the city's silos.

The Kurdish-led forces also seized control over the villages of Ajil and Kasreh Mohammad Aqa.

Well-informed sources reported that fresh forces have been dispatched to Raqqa city to join their comrades in the SDF.

Idlib

Local sources reported that Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at stormed the defense lines of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in Northern Idlib and managed to impose control over several FSA positions.

The sources said that Tahrir al-Sham engaged in tough battle with the FSA and seized control over several positions of the FSA's al-Ferqah al-Wosta group near Bab al-Hawa passageway at Syria's border with Turkey.

In the meantime, a fresh round of tensions erupted between Ahrar al-Sham and Tahrir al-Sham, local sources said, adding that Ahrar al-Sham accused Tahrir al-Sham of militant build-up in sensitive locations for future attack on Ahrar's vital positions in Northern Syria.

Ahrar al-Sham further warned of crushing response to any threat by Tahrir al-Sham, calling on other terrorist groups to support Ahrar and Turkish Army intervention in Syria.

Informed sources in Northwestern Syria confirmed on Thursday that several militants handed their weapons over to the Syrian Army troops in Idlib for the first time and left their positions for government-controlled regions in Hama province.

The sources said that a sum of 11 gunmen surrendered to the Syrian authorities in Northern Idlib and left the region for government-controlled city of Hama.

The gunmen, who were from a group affiliated to the FSA, at first contacted the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria which was responsible for facilitating the processes for all individuals and groups willing to reconcile with the Syrian government.

The same sources cited the surrendered gunmen as saying that there were considerable numbers of fighters who were willing to lay down their weapons in return for amnesty but they were afraid of the ruling Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at.

“The Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at won’t think twice before shooting dead any fighter willing to reconcile with the government,” one of the militants said.

Dara'a

Two commanders of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and two other militants came under attack by unknown assailants after intensified insecurity in regions under the control of the terrorists in Dara'a, local sources said Saturday.

News websites affiliated to the terrorists reported that Mahmoud Fowaz al-Qabiti, the commander of Ahl al-Ketab battalion affiliated to the FSA's Houran Shohada division, was killed by unknown raiders in Northern Dara'a.

In the meantime, unknown raiders shot dead Abdullah al-Qazawi, a field commander of Walid al-Qeisi brigade affiliated to Jeish al-Thowrah of the FSA, in front of his house in the town of al-Mazirib in Western Dara'a.

Also, Aswad al-Sunnah division of the FSA announced that Zarar al-Bashir, one of the group's commanders, came under attack by a bomb-laden vehicle in the town of Kafr Shams in Northern Dara'a.

In another incident, a bomb blew up in the vehicle of Qasem al-Rashid, one of the commanders of FSA's division 46 in Dara'a countryside.

Field sources said that militants affiliated to the FSA stormed the position of ISIL-affiliated Jeish Khalid Bin Walid in Dara'a province.

According to the reports, heavy infighting among terrorist groups is underway in Hawz al-Yarmouk, but none of the terrorist groups has been able to push rivals back from the battlefield.

Local reports said hundreds of militants have defected to the ISIL over the past year, increasing tensions among FSA factions.

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