Syria in Last 24 Hours:

Army Sends Fresh Reinforcement Forces to Northern Hama

Rasa - The Syrian army dispatched tens of reinforcement forces to fight against the terrorist groups in Northern Hama province.

News ID: 435342

Date: 15 December 2017 - 16:59

RNA - The deployment took place with the aim of reinvigorating the combat and defense capabilities of the Syrian army in Northern Hama and Idlib province.

Meantime, the Syrian army continued its military advances in other parts of Syria, including Homs, over past 24 hours.

Hama

The Syrian army dispatched a number of its special forces to Northern Hama to reinforce its operations in Idlib province.

Syrian sources reported on Thursday that the special forces, commanded by Colonel Soheil al-Hassan, have been sent to Northeastern Hama.

They added that these forces are due to fight in the army's battle against the al-Hama Front (Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at or the Levant Liberation Board) in Northeastern Hama and Southern Idlib.

Meantime, the Syrian army has inched closer to the strategic Abu al-Dhohour airbase by advancing in Idlib province through Northern Hama.

Earlier on Thursday, media sources reported that the Syrian army has prepared its forces for a major offensive in Idlib province.

The Arabic website of Sputnik news agency reported that the Syrian infantry units, supported by the armored vehicles, are ready to attack the terrorists' main stronghold in Idlib province which is known as the 'Den of Asps'.

It added that the Syrian army soldiers will be transferred to the battleground on ZIL-131 and GAZ-3308 Sadko vehicles and will be equipped with BMP-2 military vehicles and T-72 P3 tanks.

According to Sputnik, the operations will be conducted with the support of the artillery units of the army, adding that the operations against the terrorists in Idlib are unlikely to last long.

Homs

The Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria complained on Thursday that the terrorists have blocked efforts to send humanitarian aid to the people in Northwestern Homs.

The Center reported that the terrorists prevented the UN aid convoys to head towards Kafr Laha region in Northwestern Homs, calling for a bigger volume of aid.

It added that 156 tons of humanitarian aid failed to reach the residents of de-escalation zone in Homs given the terrorists' irresponsible move.

In a relevant development in the province earlier, the Syrian Army opened heavy fire at the gathering centers of the terrorist groups in Northern Homs after the latter violated the de-escalation zone ceasefire agreement again and shelled the strongholds of the government forces.

Terrorist group's mortar units deployed in Northern Homs targeted the army's positions in al-Mohatah and al-Mashari'a regions in Northwestern Homs, violating ceasefire in the region.

The army's artillery and missile units, in response, shelled the bases and positions of the terrorists in the farms North of the town of al-Rastan.

A number of terrorists were killed or injured and their positions were destroying in the army's artillery fire.

Damascus

The Syrian army inflicted a major defeat on the al-Nusra Front earned control over more regions in Southwestern Damascus on Thursday.

The army forces, supported by missile and artillery units, raided al-Nusra positions in Southwestern Damascus on Thursday, winning back full control of al-Khazan.

Other Syrian army troops could seize control of Tal al-Ahmar in the Eastern parts of Beit Jinn farms as well as Tal al-Ziyat region.

After pulling back under the Syrian army's heavy offensive, the militants stationed in the region demanded rapid aid and assistance, including logistic support, from other terrorist groups in Southern Syria.

Idlib

Differences among commanders of terrorist groups in Idlib have increased only several days after a meeting between al-Nusra Front and other groups to set up an operations room against the Syrian army.

News websites affiliated to the dissidents reported on Thursday that gaps have widened between Ahrar al-Sham and Noureddin al-Zinki terrorist groups in Idlib in the past few days.

They added that the differences heightened following a meeting of terrorist commanders to set up a new operations room against the Syrian army, noting that a number of terrorists agree with unity among groups - for the danger of Idlib's collapse - and some others disagree for the presence of al-Nusra Front.

Sources said that given the military presence of Ahrar al-Sham in Southern Idlib, specially Jabal al-Zawiyeh, the final decision has not yet been made by the terrorist group to unite with other groups; also most military commanders of Noureddin al-Zinki are opposed to this unity given the bad record of clashes between the terrorist group and al-Nusra when they had united a few months ago.

Dara'a

A senior commander of the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) terrorist group was gunned down during a heavy infighting in Dara'a and Quneitra provinces in Syria.

News websites affiliated to the dissidents reported on Thursday that Maher al-Misri nom de guerre Abu Hazifeh Shami, a commander of al-Motevakkeloun brigade of Jeish al-Thour affiliated to the FSA was killed in a booby-trap car bomb blast in Tariq al-Sad neighborhood of Dara'a city.

The sources added that he was one of the main commanders of the terrorists' al-Bonyan al-Marsous operations in Dara'a city.

Meantime, reports said fresh clashes have erupted between the two terrorist groups of Jeish al-Moa'taz Bellah in Dara'a and Jabhat al-Thawar Suriyah in Quneitra province, both affiliated to the FSA.

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